HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The Tri-State can shed its label as the unhealthiest area in the country and become an example for other communities that want to shape up, Ryan Seacrest said while visiting Huntington on Thursday.

"I think Huntington has gotten a bum rap to a degree with some of the black and white press and these 'unhealthiest city' lists that have been created," Seacrest said Thursday. "But I look at what we're doing as leading the charge and becoming the loudest voice in making a difference. The legacy of this community is not going to be what was, but what will be."

Seacrest is producing "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," an unscripted television series about improving the Tri-State's eating habits that is tentatively scheduled to debut in February on ABC.

The radio and television personality spent the day in Huntington getting a first-hand look at the project and meeting people who will be featured in the show.

"To individualize this rather than read or hear about it, I really see the essence of what Jamie is trying to do," Seacrest said, referring to the celebrity chef who is hosting and helping produce the show. "I met two Huntington High students who have been directly affected by unhealthy lifestyles and see how they have pulled themselves together and are now standing up for this cause.

"It's those stories that are the reason why I'm here and why I'm personally invested in this. I don't need another television show or day job. This is more than that to me."

Seacrest said he got the idea for the television series after unhealthy food in schools was a recurring topic discussed by callers of his radio talk show.

"Almost simultaneously, Jamie and I were introduced to each other and I began to look at what he's accomplished in England," Seacrest said. "He rolled up his sleeves and convinced the government, schools and parents to change the way they think about food.

"Jamie has a track record and a model for success that I couldn't pass up."

The show is tackling the area's eating habits by teaching people how to cook "scratch" meals using fresh and local products and overhauling school lunch menus in Cabell County.

Jamie's Kitchen on 3rd Avenue has been open for a few weeks now, offering cooking classes and tips to anyone who's interested. Oliver also has worked with cooks at Central City Elementary and Huntington High schools to change the lunch menus and is searching for local funding to put healthier options into Cabell's 24 other schools.

Although Seacrest's trip to Huntington was his first, Oliver has sent him footage of the show throughout filming.

"I think all of the concerns about how Huntington will be portrayed will easily vanish once the community sees the positive framing of what's happening here and the positive buy-in from people who initially didn't want to believe," Seacrest said. "The notion all along has been to create momentum and start something that will lead to sustainable changes."

Oliver backed Seacrest's comments by saying that he now understands why local officials are concerned how Huntington will be portrayed in the show. Oliver said he thinks some of the uneasiness rests with the fact that Huntington was chosen because it was labeled as the unhealthiest city in America last year in an Associated Press story that relied on data that was representative of a larger area.

"Singling Huntington out as the most unhealthy town in America is factually incorrect," Oliver said.

"That's what the health officials have been screaming since I got here and it took me three weeks of being here to learn that.

"But, ultimately, what one can't argue is the whole Tri-State area has a health problem and the country as a whole has a health problem."

Filming is expected to wrap up in late November with a food festival that Seacrest is personally overseeing. Details of the event are still being put together, he said.

"My job is to put on a show that resonates with this community in a fair and accurate light," he said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to use it to make a difference and leave behind something that is real and tangible."

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Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com

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