Pink Lady America has begun a new marketing campaign that highlights the significant health benefits of eating apples instead of candy bars.

Pink Lady America general manager Dr. John Reeves said that despite the fruit having an excellent reputation as a healthy choice of food throughout the world, it was very hard for them to compete against unhealthy snacks with huge marketing budgets behind them with visually appealing wrapping.

"Positive images are certainly valuable to any product in general and in particular to a brand like Pink Lady®," Reeves said in a release.

"Unfortunately, in a world with other branded products and especially snacks often have huge marketing budgets, the apples’ image of health can take a backseat even though those other guys may have a nutritional profile which pales by comparison."

With that in mind, Reeves is encouraging consumers to think about the health implications of the choices they make while shopping, and to read the nutritional information on the packaging.

"Like most things, a little knowledge can go a long way when it comes to understanding the nutritional value of snacks. In this case all that’s required is about 30 seconds of checking out the nutritional information on the package," he added.

Pink Lady America is focusing on are the number of calories and the amount of fiber, and has compiled figures to compare these two nutritional elements on a yearly basis for the daily consumption of one apple or candy bar.

"When it comes to calories, one medium apple a day such as Pink Lady, amounts to 47,550 calories over the period of a year, while a candy bar totals a whopping 108, 090 calories," Reeves said.

There is an even greater difference with regards to fiber content, with apples yielding 1,825 grams over a year and the candy bar providing just 475 grams.

Along with checking the nutritional content of food, Pink Lady is also encouraging people to go for a walk, citing the reduced heart attack risk that such exercise can provide. The company also says that an apple is a much more convenient snack to take on a walk, given its edible wrapper and self-composting core.

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