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Presidential Physical Fitness Award – Reasonable? Role Models?

May 6, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I must admit that I don’t remember taking the presidential fitness test as a kid. With that being said, I was surprised to learn from my daughter that in her class of club soccer, volleyball, and baseball players she was the only kid to meet the highest level (greater than the 85th percentile across several measures). She made it today by running her mile in 7:37.

So, what does this require? It made me curious. Here’s what you have to do:

benchmarks_presidential_large

Could you do that?  These seem pretty difficult to me.  I could probably do the mile in 6:06, but I doubt I could do 53 pull-ups.  And, I doubt I could sit and reach 7 inches beyond my toes.  (Looking at the 17 year old male standards.)

On the other hand, we certainly need our kids to be more fit.  We have a big childhood obesity issue.

Childhood Obesity

But, it also made me think about Michelle Obama’s efforts in this space.

Lets Move

I think these programs are good starts, but lets not forget that obesity is a social issue and kids learn from those around them.  Let me ask the uncomfortable questions about those who our kids look up to.

  • How many overweight coaches do you know?
  • How about overweight teachers?
  • How about policemen and firefighters?
  • How about clergy?

These are all key role models…not to mention us parents who are often overweight.

I guess my suggestion here to the President would be to think about how to use our massive government payrolls as a foundation for change. Let’s think about the Presidential Fitness Challenge and create a broader wellness solution to change the visual role models for our kids and figure out how to help companies invest in this.

For example, we know that sleeping is correlated to weight and health.  I was talking to my brother-in-law who is a police officer when he told me that they are expected to get 8 hours of sleep a night.  Imagine if companies set this expectation for their employees (sleep impact on work).  

“Sitting Disease” may make a great late night comedy story line, but it’s a reality of our information economy that has to be addressed.

sitting-disease-how-sitting-too-long-can-affect-your-health_5123e1818a55e

Books / Articles, Business Tools, exercise, General Thoughts, Healthcare, Infographic, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing / Communications, Methodology, Value Propositions

How Walgreens Became One Of The More Innovative Healthcare Companies

April 28, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

While we are generally a society focused on innovation from start-ups (and now all the incubators like Rock Health), there are a few big companies that are able to innovate while growing.  That’s not always easy and companies often need some catalyst to make this happen.  Right now, there are four established healthcare companies that I’m watching closely to track their innovation – Kaiser, United/Optum, Aetna, and Walgreens.  (Walgreens has made the Fast Company innovation list 3 of the past 4 years.)

I think Walgreens is really interesting, and they did have a great catalyst to force them to really dig deep to think about how do we survive in a big PBM world.  It seems like the answer has been to become a healthcare company not just a pharmacy (as they say “at the corner of Happy and Healthy”) while simultaneously continuing to grow in the specialty pharmacy and store area.

Let’s look at some of the changes they’ve made over the past 5 years.  Looking back, I would have described them as an organic growth company with a “not-invented-here” attitude.  Now, I think they have leapfrogged the marketplace to become a model for innovation.

  1. They sold their PBM.
  2. They re-designed their stores.
  3. They got the pharmacist out talking to people.
  4. They got more involved with medication therapy management.
  5. They increased their focus on immunizations increasing the pharmacists role.
  6. They formed an innovation team.
  7. They invested heavily in digital and drove out several mobile solutions including innovations like using the QR code and scanning technology to order refills.
  8. They’ve reached out to partner with companies like Johns Hopkins and the Joslin Diabetes Centers.
  9. They increased their focus on publications out of their research group to showcase what they could do.
  10. They started looking at the role the pharmacy could play and the medications played in readmissions.
  11. They partnered with Boots to become a much more global company.
  12. They offered daily testing for key numbers people should know like A1c and blood pressure even at stores without a clinic.
  13. They created an incentive program and opened it up to link to devices like FitBit.
  14. They partnered with The Biggest Loser.
  15. They increased their focus on the employer including getting into the on-site clinic space.
  16. They created 3 Accountable Care Organizations.
  17. They partnered with Novartis to get into the clinical trials space.
  18. They developed APIs to open their system up to developers and other health IT companies.
  19. They formed a big collaboration with AmerisourceBergen which if you read the quote from Greg Wasson isn’t just about supply chain.

    “Today’s announcement marks another step forward in establishing an unprecedented and efficient global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing network, and achieving our vision of becoming the first choice in health and daily living for everyone in America and beyond,” said Gregory Wasson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Walgreens. “We are excited to be expanding our existing relationship with AmerisourceBergen to a 10-year strategic long-term contract, representing another transformational step in the pharmaceutical supply chain. We believe this relationship will create a wide range of opportunities and innovations in the rapidly changing U.S. and global health care environment that we expect will benefit all of our stakeholders.”

  20. They jumped into the retail clinic space and have continued to grow that footprint physically and around the services they offer with the latest jump being to really address the access issue and help with chronic conditions not just acute problems.

“With this service expansion, Take Care Clinics now provide the most comprehensive service offering within the retail clinic industry, and can play an even more valuable role in helping patients get, stay and live well,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kang, senior vice president of health and wellness services and solutions, Walgreens. “Through greater access to services and a broader focus on disease prevention and chronic condition management, our clinics can connect and work with physicians and other providers to better help support the increasing demands on our health care system today.” (from Press Release)

This is something for the whole pharmacy (PBM, pharma, retail, mail, specialty) industry to watch and model as I talked about in my PBMI presentation (which I’m giving again tomorrow in Chicago).  It reminds me of some of the discussions by pharma leaders about the need to go “beyond the pill”.

 

Books / Articles, Care Management, Consumerism, exercise, Healthcare, Innovation, Leadership, Managed Care, Marketing / Communications, mHealth, PBM / Pharmacy, Press, Technology, Value Propositions
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How The CVS Program Will Change The Employer – Employee Contract

March 22, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

Have you heard that CVS Caremark is requiring employees to go get biometrics and going to take action on it? OMG!

I’m not sure I understand why people are all upset. Let’s look at the facts:

And, by the way, have we forgotten how much healthcare costs have gone up over time and who pays that bill. It’s either the employer or the government. Both of those things impact our pay as individuals either in terms of lower raises to cover healthcare costs, shifting healthcare costs to us, or taxes. It’s not sustainable so the person who pays the bill has to step in since we’re not. (Which is also why I support the NY ban on soda.)

Now, let’s look at our healthcare system where in the current fee-for-service model, there isn’t an incentive for physicians to address this.

For now, people should be happy. They’re only being required to do the biometrics. The penalty isn’t linked to whether they’re fat or have high blood pressure or smoke or have high cholesterol or have diabetes. A recent study by Towers Watson shows that while 16% of employers do this type of outcome based incentive program today (2013) that this is going to jump to 47% in 2014. So, this will be the norm.

And, guess what…sticks often work better than carrots in some cases.

And, healthcare costs are making us uncompetitive globally as a country.

  • The cost of healthcare is greater than the cost of steel in a car.
  • The cost of healthcare is greater than the cost of coffee in a Starbuck’s cup of coffee.

And, health reform is allowing (even enabling) this to happen. It says that you can treat people differently and create up to a 50% differential in costs associated with their health. (Not a legal definition so read the fine print.)

But, what I think all of us (consumers and employers) will need to realize is that moving to this (which I agree with) will change the employer and employee relationship in several ways.

  1. You can’t put these programs in place without something to help me manage my obesity, cholesterol, and/or other chronic condition. This will drive wellness and disease management programs to be more engaging and successful.
  2. This will put pressure on employers to create a culture of health since we spend so much time at work and work contributes to our health conditions.
    1. Need more time to be active. Less sitting. Treadmill desks. Standing meetings. Nap time. Walking breaks. Use of devices to track steps. Incentives. Gym discounts. Healthy food discounts.
    2. Need less stress.
    3. Need more sleep.
    4. Better food choices at work.
  3. This will drive a lot of the new tools and run counter to some trends about limiting dependent coverage since you can’t address obesity without engaging the entire family and the social network.
  4. This will also create a whole exception process by which people who gain weight due to certain drugs have to be excluded. People who can’t exercise may have to be excluded. People may have to see short-term goals (i.e., dropping BMI from 35 to 32). Physicians will have to be engaged.
  5. Coaching will have to expand to include dieticians, social workers, and others to help people beyond the historical nurse centric coaching model.

If none of this motivates you, then just think about the “gift” we’re giving our kids and maybe that will be a wake-up call why someone has to do something here. (As I shared the other day, I struggle with my weight so don’t think I’m some super skinny, high metabolism person who thinks this is easy.)

Books / Articles, Business Tools, Care Management, exercise, Healthcare, Leadership, Managed Care, Marketing / Communications, Research, Value Propositions
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What’s Your #Moment4Change?

March 20, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I’ve being doing a lot of work lately on how to tackle the obesity problem in the US. This has been great personally as it has forced me to look at lots of research to understand all the tools out there.

  • Diet
  • Exercise
  • Coaching programs
  • Devices
  • Social networks
  • Physicians
  • Centers of Excellence

It’s also made me look at different drivers of obesity including sleep and stress. The new report out showing that sitting is a huge problem (even if you exercise) is very eye-opening also.

For years, I’ve talked about my challenges is managing my weight which lead to some fluctuations, but at the end of the day, I think a lot of this boils down to a “Golden Moment” or a “Moment4Change”. Even people who do this every day (e.g., doctors or sports coaches) are often overweight. We have to have something which prompts us to change our life. We aren’t generally motivated by dropping our HDL. We’re motivated by being able to play with our kids or living long enough to see our kids get married.

In my life, there have been several Moment4Change points so I thought I would put this out there to hear what’s motivated others:

  • In 2002, I went to the doctor for the first time in a decade. He saw some health risks in my blood work and sent me to another physician. He told me I was obese. (Something less than 50% of physicians actually tell their overweight patients.) I was shocked. I was 215 pounds and 5′-10″. After 2 days of agony, I decided that I couldn’t accept that diagnosis and proceeded to lose 40 pounds in the next 60 days (all through exercise and social motivation through a running group).
  • Last fall after letting much of that weight creep back on over the decade, I decided to do a 5K with one of my kids. I’d run 3 marathons and was running several days a week (although at an average pace of 9 minute miles). I got killed as my kid ran at a 7:30 pace in their first race ever. Not only did I feel old, but I felt like I wasn’t being much of a role model. That motivated me to change. Now, after using the FitBit (see several comments), I’ve had good success losing 25 pounds in 3 months and seeing my cholesterol drop 120 points in that same time frame.

So, I’m interested. What has motivated you to changed? And, how do you measure success? I suggested that while women may use the “skinny jeans” test that men might be more likely to use the “belt buckle” test.

 

 

I think this image below from the AON Hewitt 2012 Health Care Survey is a good one about the fact that 80% of our costs are driven by 8 behaviors.

I also thought that this presentation at the FMI by The Well which was a GSW project was right in line with this.

Books / Articles, Care Management, Consumerism, exercise, Healthcare, Leadership, Marketing / Communications
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Short Sighted View Of Freedom With NY Soda Ban

March 12, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

pouring-on-the-pounds

There are lots of fundamental issues here:

  • Was the law legal?
  • Does soda make you fat?
  • Should the government be able to steer you to positive choices?
  • Did this impact our freedom?

At the end of the day, I look at it very differently.  I think the proposed ban was great.  I was very annoyed last night to find out it was overturned.

Why?

  1. I don’t see this as any different than moving unhealthy foods to a less obvious place in the food line at school.  It simply was meant to help steer people to make healthier decisions.  We should all be thankful for someone helping us since we generally don’t seem to be able to help ourselves.
  2. Government has to be run like a business.  (It usually isn’t.)  Obesity is a big driver of costs.  It requires more power for public transportation.  It requires bigger chairs.  It requires bigger hospital beds.  It requires bigger ambulances.  And, all of us taxpayers pay for this.
  3. 80% of healthcare costs are driven by personal decisions that we make mostly around diet and exercise.  Since most people will end up on Medicare at some point, we need to change the cost curve in healthcare sooner rather than later.  Otherwise, we either bankrupt our country or we bankrupt Medicare.

So, enjoy your big 64 oz soda now, but when you’re 69 and Medicare has been rolled back to 70 due to funding challenges, you can smile and remember that you got to enjoy all that sugar for years without anyone trying to help you. (I can picture a great political cartoon here of the patient getting a healthcare bill looking over their shoulder from their wheelchair to see a big pile of soda cups!)  Never mind the fact that you’re bankrupt due to your healthcare bills and not able to walk around to keep up with your grandkids.

The Business of Obesity
Source: top-nursing-programs.com

Consumerism, Events, exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Leadership, Marketing / Communications, Politics
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Body Peace Treaty As Mentioned On Biggest Loser

February 24, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I was finally catching up on my Biggest Loser shows yesterday.  They talked about the Body Peace Treaty from Seventeen magazine. Not something I read, but there are some good points in the treaty.  Here are a few for you.

  • Do the little things that will keep my body healthy, like walking instead of hanging on the couch, or drinking water rather than something sugary.
  • Appreciate what makes my body different from anyone else’s. I love that I’m unique on the inside, I will try to feel that way about the outside too!
  • Support my friends, who just like me, have their own body issues. Hey, we’re all in this together!
  • Remember that the sun will still rise tomorrow even if I had one too many slices of pizza or an extra scoop of ice cream tonight.
  • Quit judging a person solely by how his or her body looks — even if it seems harmless — because I’d never want anyone to do that to me.
  • Remind myself that what you see isn’t always what you get on TV and in ads — it takes a lot of airbrushing, dieting, money, and work to look like that.
  • Respect my body by feeding it well, working up a sweat when it needs it, and knowing when to give it a break.
  • Realize that the mirror can reflect only what’s on the surface of me, not who I am inside.
  • Not let my size define me. It’s far better to focus on how awesome I look in my jeans than the number on the tag.
  • Surround myself with positive people. True friends are there to lift me up when I’m feeling low and won’t bring me down with criticism, body bashing, or gossip.

So, while some of the things on the list may be more biased towards young women, the fundamentals are the same for all of us.

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare
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10 Lessons Learned From Losing Weight

February 22, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

7ea59415f834dae2e507ebacce15c158

This is the 3rd time in my life that I’ve lost over 10% of my body weight.  I’ve tried it with all exercise.  I’ve tried it with all diet changes.  And, this time, I think I’ve gotten smarter and am doing it with a combination of both thanks to technology which is helping me to track calories in and out.  I try to work towards a 500 calorie deficit every day.

With that in mind, here’s a few lessons learned.

  1. It doesn’t ever really get easier, but it can become a habit (e.g., running) and the norm (e.g., eating better).  It’s a lifestyle not an event.
  2. You eat more calories than you think.  It’s all about Eat This Not That.  (e.g., the blueberry bagel I ate the other day had more calories than a Dunkin Donuts donut.)  A lot of this happens with bread and rolls and to share a quote I heard the other day – “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead.”
  3. Food is tied up in all our holidays and celebrations.  (e.g., celebrating with cake and ice cream, neighborhood BBQ, holiday dinner)  You need to learn to take part in these and then burn some extra calories or enjoy in moderation.  You will be very frustrated if everything is about denial and not having access to these foods.  As I heard a clinician address this question earlier this week, it’s better to be good 360 days a year than to feel like you’ve failed when you participate in these holiday events.
  4. Losing weight isn’t just about food and exercise…it’s mental about your attitude.  (e.g., do you stress eat and what will you do in the future?)
  5. It’s worth it, but it’s hard work.  I look back at my time doing the Insanity workout and their advertisements.  I think they make the point that you have to work hard to get results.  (and it’s one of the hardest workouts that I’ve ever tried…and couldn’t finish.)
  6. You can’t change if everyone around you isn’t changing.  Weight is tied into your social circle as many examples have shown.
  7. It takes a while for people to recognize your weight loss so keep yourself motivated with an end goal.  And, make sure to set reasonable goals (e.g., 1-2 lbs a week).  Unless you’re on the Biggest Loser and can work out 3 hours+ a day with a controlled diet, you’re not necessarily going to make huge drops each week.
  8. Technology can help whether it’s BodyMedia, FitBit, Nike Fuel, or one of the many other solutions that are out there.  I’d also add both the idea of a device with a tool for tracking calories (food diary).
  9. Weight loss is tied in with sleep so make sure you get your sleep on a regular basis or you’ll mess up all your efforts.
  10. Travel with healthy snacks since you’ll end up somewhere hungry and be stuck going to fast food or grabbing the candy bar if you don’t have something with you.

 

610de779d6602b1536ac7869332b88f7

exercise, Healthcare

The Quest For The Stinkless Workout Shirt

January 29, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Any workout can lead to a nice sweaty shirt that can stink, but when you’re traveling, that can be a real issue.  You can certainly bring multiple sets of workout clothes on your trip, but that’s not always efficient packing.  So, if you bring one outfit and workout multiple times, it can start to be problematic by the second, third, or fourth run in the same clothes.

Now, to make it even worse, you can travel to different cities where each day you run then pack up the sweaty clothes, lock them in your car all day, jump on a plane, and unroll them 12 hours later.  I’ve wondered for years why someone didn’t develop a bag with some basic chemical in there that you could put your clothes in where it would absorb the sweat and freshen the clothes.

Well…I may have found another answer.  I just bought one of the LuLuLemon Silverescent shirts which they said is anti-stink.  I was skeptical, but I’ve put it to the test.

  • No stink after running in it.
  • No stink after rolling it up (post-workout) and leaving it in a laundry basket for a week.
  • No stink after wearing it several times back-to-back.

exercise, Healthcare, Value Propositions

3500 Calories To Lose A Pound – Myth?

January 21, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Well, it’s not that straightforward (of course), but 3,500 calories does equal a pound of fat so it’s a good rule of thumb (in my non-clinical opinion).

So, to figure out when this does or doesn’t work, I looked at the this article in the Journal of Obesity which was very difficult to understand, but here’s a discussion on MyFitnessPal that discusses it in something closer to plain language.  You can also see this article in the NY Times about de-bunking this myth.

So, if it’s wrong, why use it as a rule of thumb?  IMHO  I believe it gives you some numbers to track just understand that it’s not a perfect correlation.  But, if you take in less calories than you burn and focus on creating a deficit, then you’ll be doing the right things - being active and watching what you eat.  Of course, you can go work with a Registered Dietician to help you actually understand and refine your plan to address the gap between this assumption and reality.

mythbusters

exercise, Healthcare, Marketing / Communications, Research, Value Propositions

Guest Post: I’m Ready To Lose Weight!

January 10, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Guest Blogger Lynn Gieger is a contributor to Everyday Health and its calorie counter and fitness tools.
The signs were all there, but until the doctor commented, “You’re overweight and your weight is negatively impacting your health,” it was no longer easy or healthy to ignore the too-tight belt, too-small jeans, and the steering wheel poking into the stomach.

Now what are you going to do about it?

Ignore the hype of the hundreds of weight loss programs that promise effortless weight loss. If it was that easy, you wouldn’t be in this shape right now, would you?

To truly take charge of your weight and health, start by giving yourself some time to think about why weight loss is important to you. What will be different in your life when you lose weight? Look at the health implications: decreased cholesterol, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, less pressure on your knees and hips. Also think about personal reasons why weight loss is important to you: do you want to get on the floor and play with your grandchildren, go hiking with your kids, dancing with your spouse, or just look smashing? List all of the reasons how losing weight will improve your life to increase your motivation to make changes.

The National Weight Control Registry, established in 1994, tracks over 10,000 people who lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for 5.5 years. The NWCR research identifies 3 key steps to lose weight and keep it off:

1. Keep a journal detailing what, when and how much you eat. 78% of the NWCR participants report eating breakfast every day, and the majority decreased both calorie and fat intake to lose unwanted pounds. Use your journal to identify specific places to make changes, such as using lower fat salad dressing, choosing water instead of a high-calorie sweetened beverage, and swapping fruit for chips at snack time. Need help figuring out where to make changes? Find a weight management specialist with the knowledge and skills to streamline your food choices and encourage you to make lasting changes in your eating habits.

2. Keep track of daily exercise. 90% of NWCR participants exercise for an average of one hour each day. Create a habit of daily exercise to burn calories and improve your fitness – plus give you something else to do besides eat. Find a certified fitness expert to get you started or ask at your local gym.

3. Decrease the number of hours of non-work screen time (TV, video games, movies, computer). NWCR recommends less than 10 hours of screen time per week. If Sunday at your house means 6 hours of TV football, change your weekly screen-time habits and guess what – you just found time for exercise!

If you’re stuck and can’t figure out how to get started losing weight, work with a certified wellness coach to help you set realistic goals and hold you accountable.

Avoid a weight loss/gain rollercoaster by clearly identifying why weight loss is important to you and focus on the long-term. It doesn’t matter if it takes you 6 months or 6 years to reach your weight goal: the key is changing your habits so you stay at a healthy weight.

And the next time you see the doctor, think of this comment, “Wow, you’re looking great!”

Care Management, exercise, Guest Post, Healthcare, Research, Value Propositions

How To Improve Good Cholesterol (HDL) If Drugs Don’t Work

January 9, 2013 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

The Wall Street Journal on 1/8/13 had an article called “New Rules for Boosting Good Cholesterol” which shared the results of a recent study on medications that improve HDL (or Good Cholesterol).

“Not all HDL are created the same” was what Roger Newton, chief science officer of Esperion said.

“If you raise HDL in non-pharmacologic ways, it really does help you” says Steve Kopecky, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

The points made in the article can be summarized in the following:

  • Improving good cholesterol is important.
  • People with high HDL face fewer heart attacks (according to the Framingham Risk Score)
  • Multiple trials to improve HDL with drugs have failed
  • People may need to raise good cholesterol by behavior change

This should lead to 3 questions:

  1. What should be my HDL or Good Cholesterol? From the Mayo Clinic on Good Cholesterol:

  1. What can I do to improve my Good Cholesterol without drugs? From the WSJ article:

Activity

HDL Increase
Exercise

4 mg/dL
Drink Alcohol (in Moderation)

2-4 mg/dL
Quit Smoking

5 mg/dL
Lose Weight

1 mg/dL per 3-6 lbs
Eat Fish And Olive Oil

3-5 mg/dL
Avoid Carbohydrates

8 mg/dL
  1. What are my risks and the value of medications? For that, I found two online risk tools.

Here’s a simple one that uses the Farmingham study to estimate your risk of having a heart attack.

Here’s another one from over in Europe that’s focused on the value of statins and hosted by the Cleveland Clinic. It takes more inputs but then gives you several outputs. (A nice algorithm to integrate with something like iBlueButton or your care management system perhaps to warn you of risks without having you input a bunch of data.)

exercise, Healthcare, PBM / Pharmacy, Research, Technology, Value Propositions
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Interview With BodyMedia CEO at mHealth Summit #mhs12

December 10, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

BodyMedia 1

Last week at the mHealth Summit in DC, I had a chance to sit down and visit with Christine Robins who is the CEO of BodyMedia. (see bio below)  One of the most exciting things (mentioned at the end) is their new disposable solution coming out.

Christine Robins is currently the Chief Executive Officer of BodyMedia, Inc., a pioneering market leader in wearable body monitors. BodyMedia’s devices are unparalleled in the marketplace, and equip professionals and consumers with rich information to manage a range of health conditions impacted by lifestyle choices.

Prior to joining BodyMedia, Christine was the CEO of Philips Oral Healthcare where she led the global Sonicare® brand to significant sales and share growth. Christine also has extensive experience in a wide range of marketing and finance capacities gained during her 17 years at S.C. Johnson, where she ran notable brands such as Raid® insecticides, Glade® air fresheners, and Aveeno® skin care. With this background rooted in global multi-national companies and an entrepreneurial zeal essential to lead a high technology upstart, Chris is passionate about developing turnaround strategies, building teams, and driving innovation.

A noted speaker, Christine has delivered presentations at universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke, as well as keynotes at industry shows such as the Consumer Electronics Show, Health 2.0 and CTIA. She holds a degree in Marketing and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from Marquette University.

If you’re not familiar with BodyMedia, it’s definitely a company to know from a Quantified Self perspective. They have been around since 1999 providing solutions and have 150 global studies about the effectiveness of their devices in weight loss (see one chart below). The devices that they use continue to get smaller and smaller with time and are registered with the FDA as Class II medical devices.

clinical charts_2012_updated

Their devices track 5,000 data points per minute using 4 different sensors. Here are a few screen shots from the mobile apps that they have.

bodymedia iOS 3

And, as you can see, they map well to the chart below which shows what data consumers and physicians want to track with weight, calories, physical activity, and sleep patterns.

Quantified Self 2

For food tracking, they work with MyFitnessPal which provides them with data on products you eat. I think a good example can be seen in this screen shot from the Android app.

bodymedia 4

But, honestly, a lot of what I was really intrigued by was a new offering they’re rolling out called the “PATCH” which will be a 7-day, disposable body monitoring system that does everything the full blown system does. I don’t know the price point yet, but this is really exciting as a way to pull new people into the market and to use as a strategy for setting a baseline with a patient to understand their data. It could then lead to recommendations around disease management.

Another thing that Christine talked about was they’re approach to partnering with places like the Biggest Loser and other to allow for a customized content approach to your messaging from the system. She also showed me how the device will project where you will end up at the end of the day based on your past history.

They also have a module for a coach or weight loss professional to help manage and view data across all the people they’re working with.

(And, I just grabbed this image from their website since it points out the 3 key things to weight loss.)

exercise, Healthcare, Innovation, Press, Research, Software, Technology, Value Propositions
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FitBit One Goes To The Gym – Last Challenge

November 27, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I’ve shared a few tests with you about my FitBit One which included comparisons against my Garmin and versus a pedometer. Today, I got to take it to the gym with me and tested it for distance and calorie count relative to several pieces of equipment from LifeFitness – treadmill, stationary bike, and elliptical. For the treadmill, I also looked it two ways: (1) running at an 8 minute mile pace and (2) walking at a 15 minute mile pace at a 15% slope.

As you can see before, the FitBit was much better aligned on distance with the treadmill, but it was not as aligned on calorie count. I’m have no hypothesis here. I will say that I was surprised that the uphill walking didn’t somehow register as steps. I say that because I went on an outside run the other day up and down hills, and the FitBit did a great job of tracking my uphill runs and translating that into floors climbed.

As a side note, I think this does a nice job (if you believe the equipment calorie count) on showing how a slow walk up a steep slope can burn lots of calories compared to a fast run.

exercise, Healthcare, Research, Technology
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Stay Moving Avoid Sitting Disease

November 22, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

A clinician was talking to me he other day about “sitting disease“. They said that our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are causing all kinds of problems – not least of them being obesity.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share this article and Infographic…

Office workers can exercise at their desk to get into better shape

Stuck working in an office with no time to hit the gym on a regular basis? There are ways to burn off a few calories during office hours, says Selen Razon, a physical education professor at Ball State.

“Studies have shown that long periods of inactivity — including sitting at your desk — increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer,” she says. “I suggest that people do a few simple exercises to get their bodies moving and then stretching and toning at your desk. Moving a little goes a long way.”

Razon suggests:
• Start exercising before arriving at your desk by first parking your car as far away from the building as possible and then walking.
• Take the stairs whenever possible.
• Do exercises at your desk, including flexing arms, legs and abs on 30-second intervals.
• Get rid of a chair and sit on a medicine/fitness ball while working. Sitting on a ball will tone and strengthen your abs.
• Stand up and/or take short walks every 20 minutes at desk. Studies show even simple frequent standing breaks significantly decrease your chances of getting diabetes.
• Exchange the typical desk for one that allows you to stand, which burns more calories.
• Bring gadgets to the office. Hand grippers and stretch cords are relatively cheap and can provide great outlets for keeping active while you look at your screen.

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Research, Value Propositions
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FitBit vs Garmin – Test #2

November 20, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

As I mentioned, I got my new FitBit One the other day. I’ve been experimenting with it each day. Yesterday, I showed how it performed versus a pedometer. Today, I focused on how it performed versus my Garmin Forerunner watch that I use to track my distance and speed when running outside. While the data relative to the pedometer was pretty similar, there was a 15-16% discrepancy between the FitBit and my Garmin.

According to the Garmin, the FitBit was underestimating my distance traveled. To validate the distance, I also used www.walkjogrun.net to calculate the distance (which they estimated to be 0.82 miles).

At the same time, I also wanted to see if there was a difference between just having it sitting in the bottom of my pocket versus putting it on my belt loop. Location didn’t seem to matter.

 

(Note: This chart shows distance in miles.)

exercise, Healthcare, Research, Technology
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FitBit vs. Pedometer – Test One

November 20, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 1 Comment

I’ve been enjoying the FitBit One for a few days now.  I decided there were a few tests that I’d like to do.  The first one was to compare it to the step count from a pedometer that I’ve had. 

It hasn’t been a highly active day (as I’ve been working from my home office), but there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference. 

exercise, Healthcare, Research, Technology, Value Propositions
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My Fitbit One Has Arrived – Challengers?

November 16, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I’m a big believer in the idea of connected devices – Quantified Self movement.  While I’d love to track my data via manual input, that comes and goes.  So, over the summer, I began thinking about a device to use.  There are lots of them out there, but I’lll admit that it was hard to determine which one would be best (see one review):

For me, I decided there were several criteria:

  1. Able to track multiple activities – walking, running, biking, and steps.  (in terms of calories and raw numbers)
  2. Easy mobile and web interfaces with wireless integration.  (Mac and PC)
  3. APIs for connecting into other applications.
  4. Battery life.

I didn’t spend much time looking at the communities associated with each and how they work to motivate you to exercise.  I do think that’s important.

I also like the Striiv game idea where you earn points based on your activities (badges) to unlock more things in a virtual world.  For gamers and others, this plays into the “gamification” trends.

 

Did I pick right?  We’ll know soon, and I’ll give you an update.  But, I certainly welcome challengers.  (If you want me to try your device and compare it, let me know.)

Consumerism, exercise, Healthcare, Technology, Value Propositions

Infographic: Obesity

November 12, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Unfortunately, I don’t think a lot of this will surprise many of you, but it’s scary to think about the impact of obesity across different industries.  For some of them this is big business.  And, while I don’t think employers have fully realized how to focus on this from a “wellness” or “disease management” perspective, I think that will change. 

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Research, Value Propositions

Should NY Hold The Marathon This Weekend? (SuperStorm Sandy)

November 2, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

This seems like an interesting question, but one with perhaps a straightforward answer. With NY and NJ devastated by Superstorm Sandy and almost 4M still without power, should NY try to hold their marathon this weekend? Seems like a clear no to me.

I do understand the fact that this is a big revenue event for the city.  I do understand that you want to show your ability to recover from the storm.  BUT, it takes resources – volunteers, police, hotels, food, and other efforts to pull this off.  Wouldn’t those resources be better focused on the people that are still trying to dig out of their homes and get power?

 

Events, exercise

Infographic: Laughter As Medicine (And Equals Working Out)

October 5, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I think we’ve all heard this at some point or another although I was surprised by the comparisons to the health values of sleep and working out.  I wonder how hard I have to laugh to accomplish that.

Go Patch Adams!

Laughter Infographic

 

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Research, Value Propositions

Infographic: Inactivity Pandemic

October 1, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 2 Comments

I always love a good infographic with good data elements on a topic I care about.

Inactivity Infographic

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Research

The Transtheoretical Model And Setting Goals

September 12, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

There’s a good article in Time (9/17/12) called “Goal Power” by Dr. Oz.  I found it interesting on a few fronts.

“Getting people to make meaningful changes in their lives is much more complicated than explaining to them what to eat for dinner, how often to exercise and which kinds of tests they should get from their doctors.  The psychology of health is every bit as complex as the biology, and to create seismic shifts in behavior, we have to probe the subconscious.”

1. The topic of goals and objectives and their importance relative to healthcare behavior change is a repeating theme.

  • A month ago, I was at a presentation by Dr. Victor Strecher who founded HealthMedia.  He was talking about the importance of getting people to articulate their goals or objectives for changing.  (E.g., I want to become healthy to see my daughter get married.)
  • I had a pharmacy client who was looking into this as part of an adherence program a few years ago.

2. The topic of behavior change and behavioral economics has been a very popular theme with Nudge and many other publications and programs over the past few years.

3. Obesity, which is part of the focus of his article, is widely becoming recognized as the greatest public healthcare challenge of the 21st century.  And, it is a very complex issue tied to sleep, stress, social network, and many other factors.

4. He introduces the transtheoretical model (also known as the Prochastka model or the Stages of Change), which is widely known in the academic and health areas, into the public domain which surprised me.

(Here’s the abstract from what one widely quoted paper on this.)

The transtheoretical model posits that health behavior change involves progress through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Ten processes of change have been identified for producing progress along with decisional balance, self-efficacy, and temptations. Basic research has generated a rule of thumb for at-risk populations: 40% in precontemplation, 40% in contemplation, and 20% in preparation. Across 12 health behaviors, consistent patterns have been found between the pros and cons of changing and the stages of change. Applied research has demonstrated dramatic improvements in recruitment, retention, and progress using stage-matched interventions and proactive recruitment procedures. The most promising outcomes to data have been found with computer-based individualized and interactive interventions. The most promising enhancement to the computer-based programs are personalized counselors. One of the most striking results to date for stage-matched programs is the similarity between participants reactively recruited who reached us for help and those proactively recruited who we reached out to help. If results with stage-matched interventions continue to be replicated, health promotion programs will be able to produce unprecedented impacts on entire at-risk populations.

5. He references two of the big studies that looked at social pressure an its influence on health.  Something that peer-to-peer healthcare and social network tools can create for us by developing support communities and “buddies” to support our change.

  • 2012 study in the journal Obesity about weight loss.
  • 2008 study in the NEJM about smoking

6. He references Dr. Nicholas Chrisakis who co-authored the book Connected which is being manifest in the company called Activate Networks.

Overall, for those of us that work in the healthcare field, these are all critical topics that we constantly talk about.  It’s nice to see it brought to the “popular press”.

Books / Articles, Care Management, exercise, Healthcare, Marketing / Communications, Methodology, Research, Social Media, Value Propositions

Correlation Between Exercise and Academic Results – Infographic

September 1, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

How Working Out Can Make You Smarter Infographic

Infographic from OnlineCollegeCourses.com

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic

Infographic on Running

August 1, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

It’s been a few years now since my last marathon.  There’s just not enough time to put in the right training these days.  That being said, I’m finally getting back into running after taking some time off.  With that in mind, I thought this infographic was good.  It also reminded me to go back to my older post about running basics. 

 
Running Toward a Better You
Compiled By: InsuranceQuotes.org

exercise, Healthcare, Infographic

Do You Push Your 10 Year Old To Be An Olympian?

June 18, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

When I was watching the movie The Tooth Fairy last week, it really got me thinking about how some people push their kids so hard into sports at such an early age.  I heard one 10 year old parents talk about their kid being in the next Olympics (when their not even the best at their sport that I know). 

Here’s some examples of what I’ve seen which seem wrong:

  • A 6-year old that is home schooled so he has more time for private lessons in his sport
  • A kid who is only rewarded if she sets 3 records this summer
  • A kid who is paid to beat certain people at her sport
  • A kid who is punished by extra practice if she doesn’t perform perfectly
  • Multiple kids playing on 2 or 3 different teams simulateously in the same sport
  • Kids training 4-5 hours per day / 6 days a week at age 9

I see more and more parents (of kids under 11) video tapping their performances and then breaking down their play after they perform with them.  The focus is always on the negative.  As I heard one kid say, “be my parent not my coach”.  I think that’s important.  Parents can’t project their expectations of paying for college and fame on their kids at such an early age. 

This leads to self-esteem issues.  It leads to burnout.  It leads to over training.  And, it can lead to false expectations that manifest themselves in poor sportsmanship. 

For example, I know one kid that my kid has to compete with came up to her and said “why are competing on this team…I can’t win if you compete”.  Never mind the team spirit.  This kid wants the personal recognition even in a category that she doesn’t compete in year-round, but she thinks she should be a star in whatever she does.  This is what leads kids to cheat and be bullies. 

Here’s a few other articles on this topic:

Here’s a quote from an interview with David Ellis a sports nutritionist about specializing too early:

Early bloomers typically have an advantage on these AAA teams, and while they dominate the domestic stage with their early maturity and specialization, they are not as competitive on the international stage once other competitors have matured. In fact there is evidence that the athlete who didn’t specialize early and was a little later in maturation might end up being the better athlete! Why you ask?

That multi-sport athlete kept on developing motor skills and competitive vision that might have been more challenging in totality than the narrowed focus of the specialized athlete. These multi-sport athletes are hungry to compete as they approach their prime, and because many were late bloomers, they had to be smarter players to make up for their lack of size and strength. So when their bodies do catch up maturation-wise, they often times have a sharper set of skills, and the net result is an athlete who has the tools and the motivation to compete at an elite level versus the burn out early specialized athlete who often seems to have peaked too early and below their net potential.

Books / Articles, exercise, General Thoughts, Healthcare

Eating Chocolate = Lower BMI!

April 3, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

Here’s a study that all of us with a sweet tooth should love…

In Time (4/9/12), they say:

Eating chocolate five or more times a week on a regular basis can translate to a one point drop in BMI on average, compared with those that don’t eat it.

It sounds too good to be true, but apparently chocolate can help the body absorb fewer calories from fat.

See the full study here.

(My question is why don’t I hear these messages from my health plan.)

And, for those of you that like salty snacks instead, the same page in Time talks about the fact that popcorn has more polyphenols by weight than fruits and vegetables. (Polyphenols can neutralize cancer causing free radicals.)

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Research, Value Propositions

Employee Wellness Matters

March 2, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

If you look at the infographic below, it paints a sad picture of how work impacts our healthcare.  At the same time, we have lots of discussion about the benefits (or lack of) for disease management and wellness programs.

I think its critical for employers to play a role in helping engage and educate their employees about health and wellness.  I think this interview with MemorialCare Health System paints a good picture of why and how to approach this.

A University of Michigan study revealed health costs for a high-risk worker is three times that of a low-risk employee. American Institute of Preventive Medicine reports 87.5 percent of health claim costs are due to lifestyle. Companies implementing wellness activities save from $3.48 to $5.42 for every dollar spent and reduce absences 30 percent.

Work Is Murder
Created by: Online University

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Marketing / Communications, Research, Value Propositions

Infographic: Student Health

February 18, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

We all know that college is often not the healthiest time period for many people between all-nighters, dorm food,  caffeine, and alcohol.  I find the correlation between health and grades interesting and got the original source for it to support the infographic that I’m sharing below.
Student’s Guide to Health and Fitness

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Infographic, Research

Mouthguards For Non-Contact Sports

January 9, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

I wore a mouthguard when I played lacrosse, but I’m not sure I could see myself putting in a mouthguard for running or playing tennis or golf.  Under Armour is pushing a series of mouthguards for any sport now (see brochure).  But, from a purely academic perspective, it’s interesting.

The material says that:

  • It improves airflow.
  • It reduces stress.
  • It improves strength.
  • It reduces lactic build-up.
  • It improves response time.
  • It reduces cortisol production.

It just makes me think that you’ll create this casual athlete with:

  • A mouthguard.
  • Nose strips to improve breathing.
  • Dark compression socks pulled up to the knee (perhaps with no bottom to allow for barefoot running).
  • Compression arm sleeves.
  • Heart rate monitor with GPS.
  • Googles to protect the eyes.
  • Magnetic band for strength and balance.

You get my point.  All of these things offer either some type of protection and some improvement in results, but it can go too far (IMHO).  Although on the flipside, the competitor inside me is anxious to try them out.

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing / Communications, Value Propositions

Why We Need Recess At Work

January 8, 2012 by George Van Antwerp 0 Comments

More exercise = higher GPAs

More activities = better grades especially in math, English, and reading

Exercise = greater productivity and less sick days

Physical activity = increased blood flow to the brain fueling memory, attention, and creativity

Physical activity = hormones that improve mood and suppress stress

Any more information needed?

I was reading an article about research into why recess is important for kids in school.  I couldn’t agree more, but it got me wondering about the need for running clubs and other fitness breaks within the corporate work day.  I’m pretty sure  working through lunch and eating at your desk doesn’t help.  On the flipside, I’m not sure if fuzzball tables and other “dotcom” activities meet the activity level.

Food for thought…and of course this doesn’t account for potential hard dollar savings associated with better health and lower healthcare costs.

Books / Articles, exercise, Healthcare, Research
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