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NASHVILLE, Tenn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) today announced that its Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Dr. James Pope, will participate in a panel discussion entitled, aWeight of the World: Strategies to Fight the Global Obesity Epidemic,a at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday, April 30, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. PDT at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

"Weight of the World: Strategies to Fight the Global Obesity Epidemic"

At Healthways, Pope oversees medical and scientific integrity, analytic consultative services, process quality improvements, outcomes and applied research. Popeas leadership and work was instrumental in the recent introduction of Innergya", which was developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine and is the commercial version of the new standard of care for physician-directed sustained weight loss programs as clinically proven in the NHLBI-sponsored Johns Hopkins POWER Trial.

The trialas findings were recently presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The [ NEJM article ] recently won the Society of General Internal Medicineas Best Published Research Paper of the Year Award.

The obesity epidemic is a global concern. From industrialized nations like the United States, Great Britain and Germany to emerging economies like Egypt, Mexico and China, the percentage of populations that are obese or overweight is steadily increasing. This panel will discuss the implications this trend has on public health, productivity, human capital formation and economic development, and also talk about the causes and solutions and how businesses and other leaders can support interventions.

The panel will be moderated by Reuters Senior Health and Science Correspondent Sharon Begley. Other panelists include: Kent Bradley, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Safeway Inc.; Francine Kaufman, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Global Medical, Clinical and Health Affairs, Medtronic Diabetes; and David Kirchhoff, President and CEO, Weight Watchers International Inc.

The prestigious Milken Institute Global Conference convenes hundreds of CEOs, elected leaders, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, educators, philanthropists and global decision-makers to bring their expertise and ideas to offer solutions to the urgent challenges facing the world a" from the economy and health care to energy and education.

About Healthways

Healthways is the largest independent global provider of well-being improvement solutions. Dedicated to creating a healthier world one person at a time, the Company uses the science of behavior change to produce and measure positive change in well-being for our customers, which include employers, integrated health systems, hospitals, physicians, health plans, communities and government entities. We provide highly specific and personalized support for each individual and their team of experts to optimize each participantas health and productivity and to reduce health-related costs. Results are achieved by addressing longitudinal health risks and care needs of everyone in a given population. The Company has scaled its proprietary technology infrastructure and delivery capabilities developed over 30 years and now serves approximately 40 million people on four continents. Learn more at [ www.healthways.com ].

About the Milken Institute

A nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, the Milken Institute believes in the power of capital markets to solve urgent social and economic challenges. Its mission is to improve lives around the world by advancing innovative economic and policy solutions that create jobs, widen access to capital and enhance health.