LIVESTRONG.COM Dishes on America’s Holiday Feast and Fitness Favorites

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 75 percent of people choose not to put gravy on their Thanksgiving turkey, and 20 percent more people had sex during the holidays than did the dishes, according to new data released by LIVESTRONG.COM, a Demand Media® (NYSE: DMD) property and a leading fitness, nutrition and health resource for consumers.

“At LIVESTRONG.COM, we know that the holiday season is challenging for people striving to meet their health and fitness goals”

LIVESTRONG.COM’s four million members tracked close to two billion calories using the site’s MyPlate tool and Calorie Tracker mobile app during the 2010 holiday season. Member data is telling of what Americans will be eating this calorie-rich season and how they’ll burn off those calories.

“At LIVESTRONG.COM, we know that the holiday season is challenging for people striving to meet their health and fitness goals,” says Adam Bornstein, editorial director, LIVESTRONG.COM. “By sharing our data and offering helpful content, tools and community support this holiday season, we hope to help people stay on track and make informed decisions when hitting the Thanksgiving dinner or the holiday buffet.”

Talking Turkey – what’s really on the holiday table, according to LIVESTRONG.COM’s MyPlate data:

While nine out of ten turkey eaters opt for the breast, ham is truly the other white meat. It is three times as likely as dark meat turkey to be gobbled between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Americans are sweet on sweet potatoes: potatoes are the most popular holiday side dish and nearly one in four potato-eaters prefer this bright, vitamin-packed variety.
Although pumpkin pie is the most popular type of Thanksgiving pie, representing 70 percent of all pie consumption, another seasonal orange treat steals the show: members ate four times as many clementines than pumpkin pie slices over the holidays.
Pumpkin is not only the favorite pie variety during the holidays, it's also the overall most popular seasonal flavor. From flavored coffee drinks to cookies and muffins, pumpkin reigns supreme – more popular than seasonal stalwarts peppermint and gingerbread combined.
Members love pie but they know when to hit the breaks on extra calories. Only six percent of pie eaters added whipped cream to their dessert.
Turkey trend-setters are ditching the roasting pan – five percent of members tracked smoked, deep-fried and tofurkey varieties during the holidays.

It’s no surprise that LIVESTRONG.COM members’ fitness activity levels drop by 30 percent during the holiday season. Yet they find some surprising ways to work off the calories with a variety of physical activities.

Dancing was more popular than sex. Nearly twice as many people headed to the dance floor than the bedroom during the holiday season.
Walking was by far the most popular form of exercise during the holidays, whether it was through the mall or around the track. It was more than twice as frequent as the second most popular activity, weightlifting, and 2.25 times more frequent than running.
Family football games on the lawn are actually one of the least common forms of exercise Americans participate in on Thanksgiving. Among the more popular exercises of the day: walking, weightlifting, biking – even bowling ranked higher than football!
A byproduct of holiday houseguests, cleaning was the sixth most popular activity during the holidays – more common than yoga, jogging and cooking.

Visit LIVESTRONG.COM to track food and calorie intake, monitor weight loss goals and access thousands of healthy, festive recipes this holiday season.

About LIVESTRONG.COM

LIVESTRONG.COM inspires and empowers people to achieve their daily goals around living healthy and connects them with useful tools, trustworthy information and a passionate, engaged community of likeminded people, who are willing to share their experiences. LIVESTRONG.COM also believes that healthy living is essential to the prevention of cancer and other illnesses and therefore is a proud licensing partner of the Lance Armstrong Foundation that has contributed over $3M in support of their mission to provided services to those affected by cancer. For additional information about LIVESTRONG.COM, please visit: www.LIVESTRONG.COM.

About Demand Media

Demand Media, Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is a leading content and social media company. Through brands like eHow, LIVESTRONG.COM, Cracked and typeF, Demand Media informs and entertains one of the Internet’s largest audiences, helps advertisers find innovative ways to engage with their customers and enables publishers to expand their online presence. Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, Demand Media has offices in Kirkland, WA; Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; London, UK; and Buenos Aires, AR. For more information about Demand Media, visit: www.demandmedia.com.

LIVESTRONG is a registered trademark of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The Lance Armstrong Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) under federal tax guidelines. Demand Media, Inc. and Demand Media are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Demand Media, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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