About.com Health Launches Calorie Count Mobile

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 23 Apr 2008 - 9:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

About.com Health, the third-largest consumer health Web site in the U.S. (March 2008 Nielsen Online), announced today that it has launched Calorie Count Mobile, a free service that allows users to receive nutritional data and ratings of over 70,000 foods on their mobile devices.

Calorie Count Mobile is an extension of About.com's Calorie Count Plus Web site (http://caloriecount.about.com), which features free guidance and support to dieters. The mobile version of the site provides users with the opportunity to maintain their existing diet goals on the go, offering quick access to information on foods, calories, serving size and nutrition grades - all from a mobile phone.

"Our users can now take Calorie Count out to dinner with them to determine which menu items allow them to maintain their diet goals," said Marjorie Martin, SVP and general manager, About.com Health. "With more and more people becoming increasingly conscious about their diet, this service provides users with instant access to important nutritional data."

Calorie Count Mobile is currently offered through a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) site and Short Message Service (SMS). Consumers can use their mobile devices to access a WAP version of Calorie Count's Web site (http://ccm.about.com) or obtain their information via simple text messaging (SMS). To access the SMS version, users can simply text "food" along with the name of the food for which they are seeking calorie data (example: food Caesar salad), to 432584. The interactive service will then text a reply with basic nutritional information on the food.

Calorie Count Mobile isn't the only new addition to Calorie Count Plus. The dieting site has also added Mary Hartley, R.D. and a new toolbar application. Through the "Ask Mary" feature, Ms. Hartley offers users a chance to ask questions relating to diet and nutrition. The new toolbar application provides Calorie Count Plus users with quick access to the site's food database, user accounts, activities and "Eat Meter," which warns users as they approach or surpass their individually defined daily calorie limit. The toolbar is available for both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox applications.

About About.com

Founded in 1996, About.com is one of the Web's leading producers of original content. The site's expert Guides provide users with accurate and unbiased information to help them live happier, healthier and more successful lives.

In March 2005, About.com was acquired by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, which includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

http://www.nytco.com