The Emmy® Award-Winning"The Dr. Oz Show" Reaches One Million Registrations for Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- The Emmy® Award-winning, critically acclaimed and nationally syndicated "The Dr. Oz Show" today proudly announced that registrations for the season-long initiative,Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You, have surged past 1 million people.  This unprecedented amount of participants is the largest quantifiable cohort measuring public health impact ever instigated by a television program. Since the health challenge launched on September 26, viewer response has been robust, with hundreds of thousands of people registering each time a new step was introduced on "The Dr. Oz Show."The program leads users through seven steps to transform their overall health – weight loss, knowing family health history, sleep hygiene, stress reduction, fitness and forming a relationship with their doctor.

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As the enrollment period reaches a climax, registrations are expected to continue. The important result of the sizable pool of participants will have an enormous impact on the health of the country and a ripple effect as well: by achieving good health, Transformation Nation participants will live longer lives, experience less disease, be less of a burden on our already overtaxed health care system and most importantly, be present in the lives of their families and loved.

"The fact that one million people were motivated to seek out a pathway to better health is evidence that if we make it easy to do the right thing, people will," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, M.D. "Hopefully, this massive group of driven individuals will draw even more to register, and spread the message of health and wellness as beacons of hope to millions more."

Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You will award a prize of $1 million to one winner in May. After a pool of finalists is selected, the winner will be chosen by a panel of celebrity health judges based on their individual progress on each of the seven steps. The last day to enroll to be eligible for the $1 million dollar prize is February 26.  After February 26, people can still take advantage of the program and enroll and complete the steps, but will not be eligible for the grand prize.   

For the first time ever, "The Dr. Oz Show" partnered with Weight Watchers– recently ranked #1 best plan for weight loss by U.S. News & World Report – to help registrants lose weight.  After entering the contest on-line through www.doctoroz.com, participants find a Weight Watchers meeting location near them, proceed with a complimentary weigh-in and calculate their BMI.Weight Watchers was an obvious choice for a weight loss program partner because of the scale and infrastructure of the brand.  Anticipating sign ups exceeding one million participants, "The Dr. Oz Show" had to direct participants to an easy to find, easy to use program that was also familiar, scientifically sound and medically respected.  While final tally of the data will not be complete until May, examination of the motivated subsets indicate the result was exactly as hoped, as registrants weighing in at Weight Watchers meetings across the nation are reporting weight loss.

Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You is being powered online by our partner, Sharecare, who is committed to getting America healthy.  In addition to the Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You interactive program on Sharecare, participants have access to trusted health and wellness information, helpful tools, and real-time community interaction with each other and with thousands of health experts including physicians, nurses and trainers – all designed to help everyone live their healthiest life.  Sharecare is a company founded and owned by Harpo, Sony Pictures Television, Discovery Communications, Dr. Oz, and Jeff Arnold, which also powers the robust website for "The Dr. Oz Show." Each step in the Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You program has its own curriculum and evaluation criteria – all of which is dynamically managed in the online program.

A short synopsis of the seven steps is as follows:

TELL A FRIEND: The show is asking all Americans to enlist their friends by February 26 because we know you cannot go at it alone. Studies show folks who lose weight in groups keep their weight off and are more successful in the long term.

WEIGH IN WITH WEIGHT WATCHERS AND CALCULATE YOUR BMI: Learn the importance of your Body Mass Index. If you don't have a healthy BMI, we are asking you to lose 10 percent of your body weight or reach a healthy BMI, which correlates to a drop in risk to the things we fear most: cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The first step in calculating your BMI is to go to a local Weight Watchers center.  There, you'll find out your starting weight.  You will receive a complimentary weigh-in, and you can stay for a meeting. If you like what you hear, you can join Weight Watchers and become a member.

CONNECT WITH YOUR DOCTOR: Nearly 1/3 of all Americans don't see a doctor every year. We want you to start a relationship with your doctor so you can have an honest conversation about your weight before it's a bigger problem. Know the questions to ask your doctor and find out the right numbers to talk with them about, including blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose. Having a relationship will help you prevent future illness. If you don't have a doctor, we want you to seek out your pharmacist who can help get the conversation going.

LEARN YOUR FAMILY'S HEALTH HISTORY: One of the critical tools a doctor uses to diagnose illness and recommend preventative care is your family history. Knowing your family's health history enables you to get life saving screenings before it's too late.  "The Dr. Oz Show" web site (www.doctoroz.com) offers unique web tools powered by Sharecare to help you fill out your family history and compile all critical information.

GET MORE SLEEP: This step teaches Americans to get at least 30 more minutes of sleep a night by going to bed a half-hour earlier. We know that lack of sleep is a hidden factor of weight gain.

ASSESS YOUR STRESS: Everyone must understand how stress is a key factor in weight gain, and learn new and practical ways to manage their stress better. Stress can affect the neuroendocrine system, resulting in abdominal fat, for example: indirectly stress is linked to the consumption of too many fatty or sugary foods and inactivity.

START NEW FITNESS HABITS: Something as simple as a brisk walking for 30-60 minutes, five times a week can lower your risk of heart disease by about 40 percent. The web site provides contestants with various fitness resources.

DR. OZ'S TRANSFORMATION NATION: MILLION DOLLAR YOU CONTEST

OFFICIAL RULES Abbreviated Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE U.S. STATES AND D.C. (EXCLUDING MAINE), 18 YEARS (OR AGE OF LEGAL MAJORITY) OR OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entries must be received by 4/9/12. For Official Rules, including odds, and prize descriptions visit http://Sharecare.DoctorOz.com/rules. Sponsor: Sharecare, Inc., 3280 Peachtree Rd., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30305.

ABOUT "THE DR. OZ SHOW"

Dr. Oz won his second consecutive Emmy® Award for outstanding informative talk show host at the 2011 Daytime Emmys. "The Dr. Oz Show" won its first Emmy® Award for Best Informative Talk Show in 2011.  "The Dr. Oz Show" debuted in 2009 with the biggest ratings in nine years in daytime television and maintained impressive ratings throughout the season. "The Dr. Oz Show" is distributed in 112 countries worldwide.

Dr. Oz has served as health expert on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" since 2004, sharing advice with viewers to help them live their best life from the inside out. Dr. Oz has co-authored six New York Times Best Sellers including "YOU: The Owner's Manual", "YOU: The Smart Patient", "YOU: On a Diet", "YOU: Staying Young", "YOU: Being Beautiful" and "YOU Having a Baby" as well as the award-winning "Healing from the Heart". He has a regular column in TIME Magazine, AARP and O The Oprah Magazine.  He is also the host of a daily talk show on Sirius XM Radio's "Oprah Radio."

Dr. Oz is vice-chair of the Department of Surgery and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital and performs 100 heart operations annually. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complementary medicine and health care policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters, and medical books and has received several patents.

Cleared in over 99 percent of the country, "The Dr. Oz Show" is co-produced by Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and distributed by SPT.  "The Dr. Oz Show" is executive produced by Mindy Borman; Amy Chiaro is co-executive producer.  The show is filmed in front of a studio audience in Studio 6A in New York's legendary Rockefeller Center.

ABOUT HARPO

Harpo Productions, Inc. produces the number-one-rated, award-winning, The Oprah Winfrey Show, creates and develops original TV programming for primetime, syndication and cable television and operates Oprah.com (www.oprah.com), a premier lifestyle website. Harpo Print, LLC and Hearst Magazines publish the monthly O, The Oprah Magazine publication. Harpo Films is dedicated to high- quality scripted dramatic programming. Harpo Radio, Inc. produces Oprah Radio (XM channel 156, Sirius channel 195 as part of its "Best of XM" package) on Sirius XM Radio. A joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a multiplatform company, will debut in 2010 in more than 70 million homes on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. Internationally, SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, some of which are co-produced with local partners, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE's long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 120 channel feeds, which are available in more than 142 countries reaching more than 500 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic, production company Embassy Row and Sony Movie Channel, and is a part owner of cable channel GSN, new 3D channel 3net, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in all of SPE's digital businesses in the United States. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

ABOUT WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world's leading provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of Company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds over 45,000 meetings each week where members receive group support and learn about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. WeightWatchers.com provides innovative, subscription weight management products over the Internet and is the leading Internet-based weight management provider in the world. In addition, Weight Watchers offers a wide range of products, publications and programs for those interested in weight loss and weight control.

(1) Wang YC et al (2011) Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK, The  Lancet, v. 378, i. 9793, p. 815 – 825

Online Information:
Show: doctoroz.com
Twitter: twitter.com/droz
Myspace: myspace.com/droz
Facebook: facebook.com/droz

For Ticket Inquiries:
General Audience Tickets:
Ticket Request Hotline is open
Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
212-664-3056, Option 4

SOURCE The Dr. Oz Show

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