Sharen Ross, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management:

Today we are excited to announce a new behavioral weight loss program designed for employers looking to mitigate obesity-related healthcare costs and productivity losses.

Alere Wellbeing’s new program, Weight Talk®, is a personal coaching program that guides participants in setting realistic weight loss goals and helps them develop the skills needed to achieve these goals. Through bi-weekly phone coaching sessions, supplemented by web-based learning, tracking, and social support, participants learn how the decisions they make each day can impact their weight and how small, simple changes can lead to major physical and psychological improvements. With the help of a dedicated coach, program participants develop personalized nutrition and physical activity plans. They then learn to master The 8 Essential Practices, which are a set of behavioral focus areas that address such topics as body image, emotional eating, sleep quality, stress, time management, environmental control, and cognitive dissonance.

What makes this program unique is its emphasis on the importance of real human interaction for sustained behavior change. While other companies are moving rapidly towards purely web-based programs for weight loss, ostensibly to reach more people at a lower cost, we’re sticking to our behavioral coaching roots and what the evidence says works best for achieving sustainable results. We believe that employers will respond favorably to Weight Talk® - a program that is designed for organizations serious about measurable weight loss that leads to a positive financial return.

Read the press release here.

More information about Weight Talk® can be found at www.alerewellbeing.com or by emailing wellbeingsales@alere.com.