Nutrisystem Diet Index™ Reveals Who Americans Think Have the Best Celebrity Bodies

More Than Half of Those Surveyed Admit Struggling with Their Weight, and the Majority Find a Sexual Partner to be More Appealing with a Thin Body than a Fat Wallet

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Nutrisystem, Inc.

May 25, 2011, 12:33 ET

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Nutrisystem Diet Index,™(1) Americans voted that Jennifer Lopez has the best derriere and legs. When women were asked who they consider physical perfection, they agreed it was a meeting of First Lady Michelle Obama's arms (22 percent), Jennifer Lopez's legs (24 percent) and derriere (20 percent) and Jessica Alba's abs (11 percent). In an ideal world, men would rock Vin Diesel's arms (35 percent) and Matthew McConaughey's six-pack abs (16 percent).

It's clear that celebrities' physical attributes play a large part as to why Americans find celebrities appealing. So, would weight gain impact their attractiveness? The Diet Index found that 51 percent of women who weighed in think that if a male star gained a significant amount of weight – like 50 pounds - he would not be hot anymore. Men seem to agree when it comes to female celebrities. About half (48 percent) predict they'd find her unattractive if she packed on the same amount of weight.

"While Americans are obsessed with celebrity weight loss and physical fitness, our research reveals that their focus should be shifted to their own health," said Joe Redling, Chairman and CEO of Nutrisystem, Inc. "We've released our second Nutrisystem Diet Index™ to further understand America's attitudes toward dieting and continue a dialogue about healthy dieting and healthy lifestyle habits and trends."

BACK TO REALITY—WHERE AMERICA STANDS

Over the last couple years, the Nutrisystem Diet Index revealed two-thirds (66 percent) of American women and about half (51 percent) of American men have contended with weight gain. Many are quick to blame external factors, such as getting older (44 percent) or having a busy career (23 percent). And while Americans seem to desire the famously constructed bodies of their favorite celebrities, they aren't working for it. Sixty percent of those who have gained weight over the last few years, confess the extra pounds are a result of not exercising often enough, if at all, while others blame not watching what they are eating (40 percent) or not incorporating enough healthy foods into their diets (35 percent).

So what is keeping Americans from getting into better shape? While 68 percent of Americans have tried to diet at least once in their lifetime, they still struggle. Many find it difficult to give up the foods they love, which is not surprising considering that close to half (45 percent) of Americans admit that it would be harder to give up their favorite dessert than sex for one month. Sometimes, it's simply not seeing the physical results as soon as they'd like to, that can derail their efforts.

SEX AND THE SCALE

This year's Diet Index showed that close to a quarter (22 percent) of Americans would pass up a cool million dollars in lottery winnings to have their dream body for the rest of their lives. And fortunately, there is a desire to lose weight – not just to look thinner, but to enjoy the countless benefits that come with weight loss. A majority admit that when they lose weight they feel better about themselves (64 percent) and see a spike in their energy (62 percent). Many even believe that if they lost 10 pounds they'd be more confident in their sexuality (48 percent), feel more sexual (34 percent) and have more (33 percent) and better (28 percent) sex.

It's also important to keep Americans' bodies looking appealing so that they can keep their sexual partner interested. After all, a quarter (25 percent) of Americans who've had the pleasure of seeing someone naked and weren't afraid to provide an answer confess there's been at least one instance where they became less attracted to someone after seeing that person in the nude. Additionally, an overwhelming majority (85 percent) of Americans who chimed in find a great body more of a turn-on for a sexual partner to have than a lot of money. In fact, Americans see the connection between sex and weight to the point that a majority (80 percent) would pick weight loss over taking prescription medication, like Viagra, if they ever wanted to improve their sexual performance.

FAT FIBS

Weight is also a topic most would rather not even discuss. Thirty-six percent of those who are married or in serious relationships would much sooner share the number of sexual partners they've had than discuss their current weight. Close to one in five (17 percent) of Americans have gone so far as to lie about their weight on formal documents such as their drivers' licenses, state identification cards and medical, gym and diet program forms. Many would rather their peers didn't know their weight either. Perhaps this is why half (50 percent) of Americans who are members of social networking sites admit most of the pictures on their profile are shot from the waist-up, rather than full-body.

"The second annual Nutrisystem Diet Index found that Americans know what they want in terms of their bodies and health, but they feel hampered and are somewhat confused about how to get there," said Dr. Bruce Daggy, Nutritional Biochemist and Vice President of Research and Development, Nutrisystem, Inc. "These survey results help focus on where Americans can make improvements and hopefully serve as a springboard for Americans to take control of their health. Nutrisystem starts with nutrition. Our programs are an affordable, simple means to learn a healthy pattern of eating."

KEY NUTRISYSTEM DIET INDEX FINDINGS

The Nutrisystem Diet Index revealed that Americans are showing slight signs of progress. According to the Index, Americans are at the midway mark on healthy diet and lifestyle choices, scoring a 5.4 on a 10 point scale – with one being an "unhealthy diet and lifestyle" and 10 being a "healthy diet and lifestyle" – when asked basic questions about their eating habits, diet behaviors and lifestyle choices.

While overall, the Index Score didn't show a significant change from last year, there has been a poignant shift across the categories. There are nine million fewer Americans in the unhealthy representation of the population and approximately seven million more Americans in the healthy representation of the country than there were last year.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The Nutrisystem Diet Index™ analyzed healthy diet and lifestyle behaviors and attitudes based on a telephone survey conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Nutrisystem, Inc. The phone survey took place between February 22nd and March 8th, 2011 among 1,000 adults age 18 and over.

For more information on the Nutrisystem Diet Index visit nutrisystemnews.com.

ABOUT NUTRISYSTEM, INC.

Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) is the number one home delivery weight loss company. Nutrisystem is sold direct to the consumer through nutrisystem.com, by phone, and at select retailers, with convenient home delivery. The Company offers proven nutritionally balanced weight loss programs designed for women, men, and seniors, as well as the Nutrisystem® D™ program, specifically designed to help people with type 2 diabetes who want to lose weight and manage their diabetes. The Nutrisystem programs are based on more than 39 years of nutrition research and the science of the low glycemic index, and offer a variety of great tasting, satisfying high-fiber, good carbohydrate meals that are heart healthy. Nutrisystem was named the "Least Expensive Home Delivery Program" by CBS Money Watch in January 2011. The program has no membership fees and provides weight management support and counseling by trained weight loss coaches and online weight management tools free of charge. Nutrisystem proudly supports the American Diabetes Association in its movement to Stop Diabetes™, as well as to help in increasing awareness of the correlation between weight loss and improvements in diabetes control. For more information or to become a customer visit http://www.nutrisystem.com or call 1-800-891-3215. Follow Nutrisystem on Twitter @nutrisystem and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/nutrisystem.

ABOUT KELTON

Kelton Research is a leading global insights firm and is America's 64th fastest growing private company. Serving as a partner to more than 100 of the Fortune 500 and thousands of smaller companies and organizations, Kelton utilizes a wide range of customized, innovative research techniques and staff expertise in marketing, branding, PR, media and business strategy to help drive our clients' businesses forward. For more information about Kelton's services, please call 1.888.8.KELTON or visit www.keltonresearch.com.

DISCLAIMER

Celebrities that are referenced herein are not affiliated with Nutrisystem and are not a spokesperson for or represent the Company.

(1) The Nutrisystem Diet Index™ is an annual national consumer survey, in its 2nd year, tracking America's diet behaviors, attitudes and trends. Each survey, developed by Nutrisystem, has a scale that measures America's current diet and lifestyle behaviors and choices.

SOURCE Nutrisystem, Inc.