CHICAGO (September 10, 2007) – In an effort to help consumers make positive steps toward improving their heart health, Quaker and Cheryl Hines, co-star of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, want 250,000 Americans to pledge to take the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge™. For every consumer – up to a quarter million – who takes the pledge now through February 2008, Quaker will donate $1 to the Larry King Cardiac Foundation and be automatically entered for a chance to win a "Heart of New York Getaway” and to appear with Larry King in a new Quaker Oatmeal national newspaper advertisement.

For 10 years, Quaker has encouraged people to take the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge as a simple way to help improve heart health by lowering cholesterol – both total cholesterol and LDL (“the bad”) cholesterol.* Taking the Challenge is easy: 1) have your cholesterol tested; 2) eat a good-sized bowl of oatmeal every day plus limit foods that add saturated fat and cholesterol; 3) exercise every day. After 30 days have your cholesterol tested again.

Hines' father suffers from heart disease and recently underwent open heart surgery which is why this cause is so close to her heart. She encourages people to “get smart about their heart and get informed.” Larry King, who also suffers from heart disease and underwent successful quintuple bypass heart surgery, established the Larry King Cardiac Foundation (LKCF) to provide funding for life-saving treatment for individuals who, due to limited means or no insurance, would otherwise be unable to receive the care they need. The LKCF shares the same goals of Quaker Oatmeal to help prevent heart disease by encouraging Americans to eat right and exercise.

“Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death of both men and women in the United States, and for every point that you lower your cholesterol, you decrease your risk of heart disease by about 1 percent,” said Julie Upton, registered dietitian. “By taking this challenge to consumers, it really shows Quaker cares about nourishing and supporting healthier lifestyles.”

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Real People, Real Results
 

To kick off the renewed Challenge, Quaker recently transformed a popular breakfast eatery in Midtown Manhattan into the Quaker Smart Heart Café offering free cholesterol screenings, free Quaker Oatmeal breakfast and tips on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. Hines and Larry King, founder of the Larry King Cardiac Foundation were on hand serving up Quaker Oatmeal and encouraging people to take the pledge. There were also several people from Quaker's 10-year “Real People” advertising campaign – sharing their very real success stories.

“As a marketing pioneer, Quaker led the industry in promoting the benefits of heart-healthy foods such as oatmeal to consumers. Today, we continue our leadership as one of the first companies to embrace consumers' real life success stories to inspire others to try it for themselves.” said Marie Devlin, Chief Marketing Officer, Quaker Foods and Snacks. “We're hoping this new ‘call-to-action' will encourage a new generation of real people and real results. And as further commitment, we're putting our own charitable dollars to work for Americans in need of heart health by supporting the Larry King Cardiac Foundation.”

Take the Pledge
 

Visit www.quakeroatmeal.com to take the pledge and manage your progress during the 30-day Challenge with coaching advice from real people with real results. Every person who signs up to take the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge is automatically entered for a chance to win a “Heart of New York Getaway” and to appear with Larry King in a new Quaker Oatmeal national newspaper advertisement.

About the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge

The Quaker Smart Heart Challenge is an initiative backed by 40 years of research that encourages people to make simple lifestyle changes such as exercising and eating right, including eating a good-sized bowl of Quaker Oatmeal for 30 days as part of a low-saturated fat diet to help lower cholesterol. Over the last 10 years, the Quaker Oatmeal Smart Heart Challenge has helped people nationwide proactively manage their cholesterol. Quaker Oatmeal was one of the first companies to embrace consumers' real life successes with the Challenge, inspiring others to lower their cholesterol and help reduce their risk of heart disease.

About Quaker Oatmeal

In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the first food-specific health claim to Quaker Oats for soluble fiber in oatmeal and its heart-health benefits. The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world's largest consumer packaged good companies. For more information, please visit www.quakeroatmeal.com.

About the Larry King Cardiac Foundation

The Larry King Cardiac Foundation was established in 1988 to provide funding for life-saving treatment for individuals, who, due to limited means or no insurance, would be otherwise unable to receive the treatment and medical attention they so desperately need. For more information, visit www.lkcf.org.

*Three grams of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.