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Real Appeal Links Hollywood Celebrity, Tracking Gadgets For Weight Loss

Los Angeles-based Real Appeal, which is backed by health company UnitedHealth Group, said Wednesday that it has launched a new personalized, interactive online weight loss program which taps into both celebrities and connected fitness devices to help improve the health of employees. According to Real Appeal, it uses personal coaches, a Hollywoodd cast, interactive scales, calorie and weight loss trackers, and much more all combined into a program to help motivate people to lose weight. The new programs--which it says are available to participants for free--will be offered up to people via their employers, who offer the program through their health insurance plans. Real Appeal said it initially has tested its program with almost 700 UnitedHealth Group employees in Ohio, where 70 percent of those participants lost weight and 37 percent lost 5 percent or greater. The company said celebrities involved in the video content include comedian Tom Arnold; chef Rocco DiSpirito; television host Daisy Fuentes; actress Helen Hunt; and many others. Real Appeal is led by Seth Tuckerman.