People and Pets, Purina and Jenny Craig Pair Up for Weight Loss
ST. LOUIS (May 13, 2013) — Veterinary patients and clients can benefit from a new program that helps people and their pets exercise and lose weight together. Purina® and fellow Nestlé company Jenny Craig are joining forces with a special program called the Power of Two, which combines the proven success of the Jenny Craig program and Project: Pet Slim Down® from Purina.
In working together, weight-loss experts from Jenny Craig and Purina have learned that approaches effective in helping people lose weight can also help overweight pets. “Strategies such as meal planning and one-on-one support can help jump-start new habits,” said Jessica Collins, Area Market Director and consultant for Jenny Craig. “Pets also make great weight-loss partners by motivating their owners to get moving.”
While enrollment at PowerofTwoProgram.com can save significant dollars for pets and people through exclusive offers, experts from Purina and Jenny Craig maintain that the greatest benefit for pets and their owners is the personalized counsel offered through trained veterinary professionals and Jenny Craig consultants.
“One of the greatest challenges with weight management is making the right decisions about eating and exercise,” says Purina® Certified Weight Coach Heather Prendergast. “Owners of overweight pets need specific veterinary advice. They need to know what food to feed, how much to feed and how often to feed it.”
Prendergast has coached a number of clients and patients through the Project: Pet Slim Down program in her Las Cruces, NM practice. She notes that the support of a weight-loss buddy can be invaluable to an owner who also wants to lose weight, while exercising with pets can actually help boost both duration and intensity level. According to researchers in Canada, dog owners walk nearly twice as much as people without dogs,1 and a University of Missouri study determined that walking speed increases 28 percent with a dog.2
Details on the program and tips from Purina® and Jenny Craig experts are available at PowerofTwoProgram.com. Among the special offers with sign-up is a choice of a free program from Jenny Craig, for up to 90 days (plus the cost of food and shipping if applicable), and a $15 veterinary visit rebate with the purchase of Purina Veterinary Diets® OM Overweight Management® Canine or Feline Formula.
About Nestlé Purina
One of the leading global players in the pet food industry, Nestlé Purina PetCare produces Purina Veterinary Diets®, nutritional diets formulated for the dietary management of dogs and cats with certain health problems. Each diet provides a proper balance of total nutrients while meeting special dietary needs. They are available exclusively through veterinarians.
About Project: Pet Slim DownÔ
Project: Pet Slim Down is a free program from Purina that teams owners of overweight dogs and cats with veterinary professionals who work with them to create an individualized feeding and exercise program to help pets reach a healthy weight. Elements of the program include:
- Software that enables veterinary professionals to calculate feeding recommendations for 1 to 2 percent weekly weight loss
- Client education
- Regular pet weigh-ins
- Rebates to help clients stay compliant
In addition, the PurinaÒ Certified Weight Coach program provides comprehensive, accredited training in nutrition and weight management to staff members who serve as in-clinic champions for the program.
About Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig’s program is designed to help you manage your weight by creating a healthy relationship with food, building a fun, active lifestyle and developing a balanced approach to living. Our mantra is: Eat Well. Move More. Live Life.
Our model is like no other weight loss company out there. Jenny provides a weekly personal consultation that is tailored to you. We teach portion control, provide motivational techniques for stressful situations like social gatherings and dining out, and provide fun ways to incorporate daily activity. Jenny’s nutritionists work with food scientists to create more than 80 delicious Jenny's Cuisine™ menu items. Jenny's program is available in-centre and our at-home program, Jenny At Home for easy access, whenever, wherever!
Jenny Craig, based in Carlsbad, CA, is one of the world's largest weight management companies, with more than 700 company-owned and franchised centres in the United States, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Jenny Craig has more than 3,500 employees and is celebrating their 30th Birthday in 2013.
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company and Jenny are divisions of Nestlé, the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company.
1 Shane G. Brown, Ryan E Rhodes, “Relationships Among Dog Ownership and Leisure-Time Walking in Western Canadian Adults,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 30, Issue 2, (February 2006): p.131-136.
2 University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI), 2008.
For further information: Sue O’Brien (on behalf of Purina)
319-231-6129 (cell)
612-305-6116 (office)
sue.obrien@exponentpr.com