FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Visitors to MVP's Web site will find a new "consumer health tools" program under the Health Central section of the site that enables them to enter their own specific health data and receive personalized health information to better manage their own fitness, learn about stress and depression factors, or how smoking may directly impact them.

By entering individual details such as weight, height, age, etc., Web site visitors can learn whether or not they are at risk for common health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart attack. Pregnant women can estimate their due date for delivery.

The program will also calculate the number of calories a specific individual would burn during a select physical activity, like bicycling, dancing or running, or determine their target heart rate to aim for when exercising to get the most aerobic benefit. To ensure accuracy, all health information provided by the new program has been reviewed by doctors.

"The impetus for creating this unique interactive program stems from MVP's ongoing mission to improve the quality of life and public health in the communities we serve," said Dennis L. Allen, M.D., MVP executive vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer. "We believe this program will help people to make good decisions about their life style and encourage them to take steps to better manage their health," he said.

The new program, which is open to all visitors -- not just MVP members -- also includes an enhancement of MVP's online health library which contains information verfieid by physicians on hundreds of topics. The library now contains "action sets," a series of antidotes or home remedies that can help make chronic health conditions easier to cope with. Action sets are not cures, but additional steps an individual may consider when managing a disease or disorder. For example, those with a heart condition may find a walking program action set a helpful addition to a cardiac rehabilitation.