HMR Weight Management Services Named No. 2 Best Weight-Loss Diet in U.S. News & World Report's Best Diets of 2015

BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- HMR Weight Management Services (HMR), a subsidiary of Merck, announced today that it has been named the No. 2 Best Weight-Loss Diet in U.S. News & World Reports' Best Diets of 2015 rankings. The ranking was based on both short and long-term weight-loss ratings.

HMR's programs focus on integrating diet, physical activity and healthy lifestyle skills through weekly coaching. This is the first time that HMR has been included in the annual rankings list. HMR was evaluated against 34 other diets in categories including easiness to follow, ability to produce short and long-term weight loss, nutritional completeness, safety, and potential to prevent and manage diabetes and heart disease.

"We are delighted to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the most effective diets for weight loss," said Carol Addy, M.D. MMSc, Chief Medical Officer at HMR. "HMR has over 30 years of experience in weight management. The reason our program works so well is that we provide the healthy lifestyle skills, resources and coaching that individuals need to reach their weight-loss goals."

"We also know that if people are hungry, they are less likely to be successful," she added. "Our programs encourage people to eat as many of the foods in our diet program as they'd like in order to stay full. This helps them to stay on the diet longer and ultimately helps them to lose more weight."

During the ranking process, reporters and editors from U.S. News & World Report created in-depth profiles of each diet, and a panel of nationally recognized experts on diet, nutrition, obesity, food psychology, diabetes and heart disease rated the diets and their effectiveness.

"The Best Diets rankings are designed to help consumers identify a diet that suits their specific weight and lifestyle needs," said Angela Haupt, senior health & wellness editor for U.S. News & World Report. "Our panel of nationally recognized experts scrutinized each diet to help determine whether its claims add up or fall short — those that top the lists scored well in seven categories including likelihood of weight loss, nutritional completeness and safety."

HMR's programs are available in hospitals and medical centers or can be used by participants
at home. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of HMR's programs in supporting weight loss. Research showed 47 lbs. average weight loss for a mix of HMR Decision-Free® and Healthy Solutions® clinic patients with a BMI of 40 or greater who completed a program for at least 12 weeks. For Healthy Solutions® at Home, published data showed 23 lbs. median weight loss over the first 12 weeks for those who completed the program in a clinical study. 

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About HMR Weight Management Services (HMR)
HMR Weight Management Services (HMR) is a subsidiary of Merck specializing in weight loss and weight management. HMR programs offer lifestyle education, structured diets and an emphasis on long-term weight and health management. Founded in 1983 by Lawrence T.P. Stifler, Ph.D., HMR is a provider of medically based weight management programs in clinics, hospitals and major medical centers throughout the United States. Headquartered in Boston, HMR provides programs and support services to medically based obesity-treatment centers across the country.

About Merck
Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Merck Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of Merck's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Merck's 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).

SOURCE HMR Weight Management Services

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