Press Releases

Local Loser is Big Winner with Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association

PHILADELPHIA (December 5, 2006) - Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association recently teamed with Friendship Cottage Cheese to promote dairy as part of a healthy lifestyle on Philadelphia’s NBC10’s Local Loser competition, a local spin-off of the national “Biggest Loser” reality TV show.

Every Wednesday for eight weeks, Althea Zanecosky, media spokesperson for Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, worked with five Delaware Valley residents eager to lose weight and change their lifestyles. Each contestant received a customized eating plan created by Zanecosky, a gym membership and a personal trainer.

Zanecosky, a registered dietitian, appeared weekly on 10!, a news magazine show watched by more than 60,000 viewers, with “Wednesday Weight Loss Wisdom.” The healthy eating message was reiterated on Zanecosky’s blog, an Internet-based diary, which addressed nutrition issues and offered advice on portion sizes, eating at fast-food restaurants, and revving up metabolism.

“Working with Local Loser was a wonderful way to talk about dairy to a lot of viewers. Unfortunately many people eliminate dairy when they decide to lose weight because they think it’s too high in calories and fat,” Zanecosky said. “Studies support the correlation between dairy consumption and weight loss. By working individually with five people I was able to educate nearly half a million people watching at home.”

After dropping from 415 pounds to 360 pounds, Carl Steinmetz of West Chester, Pa., was named the winner of the Local Loser competition. "I tried just about everything during my 20 or so years of being overweight," Steinmetz said after winning the contest. "But this program was much different because of all of the support I received."

Zanecosky visited each contestant for an in-home pantry and refrigerator evaluation and offered guidance to improve their eating habits.

“The three food groups most notably missing from Americans’ diets – dairy, fruits and vegetables – weren’t abundant in the contestants’ refrigerators. Dairy, fruits and vegetables are essential to successfully losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight,” Zanecosky said.

Three of the other four contestants each lost between 20 and 25 pounds, which Zanecosky says is right on target for healthy weight loss. NBC10 plans to follow the progress of Steinmetz and the other contestants through next fall.

Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association is the dairy-farmer funded regional promotion organization responsible for increasing milk and dairy product demand throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy promotion organization, to implement dairy promotion, education and research programs locally. For more information, visit www.dairyspot.com.