New PepsiCo Program Helps People Get Started on Healthier Lifestyles; Cindy Crawford Kicks off S.M.A.R.T. Program by Building First Smart Spot™ Playground

Business Wire, Nov 4, 2005

WASHINGTON -- As part of its ongoing commitment to providing families with solutions to live healthier lives, PepsiCo today launched its S.M.A.R.T. lifestyle program by building the first Smart Spot(TM) playground in the nation's capital. Supermodel and mom Cindy Crawford helped PepsiCo and KaBOOM! build the first playground today at CentroNia, a leading educational organization that serves Latino and African-American children and families in Washington, D.C.

The S.M.A.R.T. program complements PepsiCo's efforts to introduce energy balance lesson plans in schools across the nation, develop new products, reformulate existing products and identify healthier choices with the Smart Spot symbol, which means a product has met nutrition criteria based on authoritative statements from the FDA and the National Academy of Sciences.

For help on how to live healthier, families can log onto www.smartspot.com, and find tools on how to start the S.M.A.R.T. program. At the same time, people who commit to living S.M.A.R.T. can also nominate their town for a Smart Spot playground so their community can begin to live S.M.A.R.T. The company plans on building at least 12 playgrounds with KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

Live S.M.A.R.T.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for:

--Start with a healthy breakfast

--Move more

--Add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains

--Remember to hydrate

--Try lower calories or fat

The S.M.A.R.T. steps are based on research by James O. Hill, Ph.D., a developer of the National Weight Control Registry and co-founder of America On the Move. Dr. Hill's research with the National Weight Control Registry identified behaviors of the most successful weight loss maintainers. His work with America On the Move found that people who were most successful in improving their health and maintaining weight loss didn't make drastic changes to their lifestyle, but rather did a few basic things that could be easily incorporated into everyday lives. From that information, the five S.M.A.R.T. steps were developed.

The S.M.A.R.T. steps were designed to be easy-to-remember, easy-to-follow and easy-to-incorporate into daily life. S.M.A.R.T touches both sides of the energy balance equation: managing the calories consumed through food and the calories burned from physical activity.

"Last year, PepsiCo first put the Smart Spot(TM) symbol on select products to make it easier for moms to identify healthier choices for their families when shopping," said Brock Leach, senior vice president, New Growth Platforms and chief innovation officer for PepsiCo. "Now we're expanding our efforts through the S.M.A.R.T. program to make it easier to get started on healthier lifestyles too. And, the new Smart Spot playgrounds are a fun place where parents and their kids can live the S.M.A.R.T. life."

Join the S.M.A.R.T. Life

Living a healthier lifestyle is important to Crawford and her family, which is why she is helping launch the S.M.A.R.T. program and is encouraging all families to get started today.

"As a busy mom, I always look for fun, easy ways to keep my family eating healthier and staying active but I know it can be challenging," said Crawford. "The new S.M.A.R.T. steps provide this positive reminder that will help families live healthier every day."

Play S.M.A.R.T.

Crawford and nearly 200 volunteers helped build the first Smart Spot playground to benefit CentroNia, a DC-based organization that provides high quality education, professional development and family-support services to more than 1,000 low-income Latino, African-American and multiethnic children and families.

"We recognize that a healthy body is essential to a well-functioning mind. The playground will help us bring our health and wellness initiative to the children and families we serve," said Carmen Ramos-Watson, CentroNia Board Chair. "We want to thank PepsiCo and KaBOOM! for building the playground at our new site so we can ensure our children stay physically active and learn the importance of living a healthier life at a young age."

Nominate a Community for a Smart Spot Playground

PepsiCo and KaBOOM! are asking moms to make recommendations for where to build the 12 playgrounds in 2006. Moms who want to get their families and their communities started on a healthier lifestyle can log onto www.smartspot.com.

"At KaBOOM!, we want to see a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America," said Darell Hammond, CEO and co-founder of KABOOM! "We want to hear from as many families as possible so we can build Smart Spot playgrounds in communities that want to move more, have fun and live healthier."

About the Smart Spot Program

PepsiCo is helping people make better choices by putting the Smart Spot(TM) symbol on products that meet a nutritional criteria based on authoritative statements from the FDA and National Academy of Sciences. There are more than 100 products that bear the Smart Spot symbol, including Quaker Oatmeal, Tropicana Orange Juice, Baked! Lays, Aquafina water, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and Quaker Rice Snacks.