US health and fitness company, Bally Total Fitness, has launched a nationwide campaign to get America into shape.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 20.9 per cent of adults were obese in 2001, over one per cent up on the figure for 2000.

Bally's Metabolic Month campaign is aimed at educating consumers on the importance metabolism plays in creating a long-lasting complete and effective diet, nutrition and fitness program.

The company will be opening its 400 Bally Total Fitness, Gorilla Sports and Pinnacle Fitness clubs and providing a two-week guest pass for clients. It will also arrange for individuals to receive a free fitness assessment and make appointments for a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) consultation. RMR is a test to determine the number of calories a person burns at rest, a key element in creating an effective and complete diet-nutrition-fitness programme.

For Bally Fitness, vice president of clinical services, Dr. Jason Convisor, said: Weight loss is a very basic mathematical equation. The number of calories consumed per day, minus the total amount of calories you burn at rest (RMR) and during exercise, is equal to the amount of calories lost or gained each day. Understanding your RMR measurement is invaluable for ensuring you reach your weight loss goals efficiently.

Bally Total Fitness will be able to measure an individual's RMR - a process which was formerly both lengthy and expensive - within a 10-minute consultation using the BodyGem indirect calorimeter. The company is the only national health club organisation in the US to offer this process, provided in conjunction with its new Weight Management Program.

Bally Total Fitness has over 420 facilities in 29 US states, Canada, Asia and the Caribbean, operating under the Bally Total Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Gorilla Sports, Pinnacle Fitness, Bally Sports Clubs and Sports Clubs of Canada brands. Details: www.ballyfitness.com