4 ms·

I feel this is a no-brainer and it's nice to have a meta study confirm it. I won't be surprised if we start seeing health insurance plans offer rebates or disco

I feel this is a no-brainer and it's nice to have a meta study confirm it. I won't be surprised if we start seeing health insurance plans offer rebates or discounts to people who use them.

codeulike 3y ago
I was really surprised to read of the positive results. Because I naturally assume that fads are just fads, based on marketing or fashion, and all the activity tracking watches that appeared over the last decade really seemed like a fad.
- Gigachad 3y ago
  I feel like the gamification and reminders on the Apple Watch are not that compelling, but having long term history tracking of some stats actually is interesting. A few years ago I moved out of the suburbs and in to an inner city apartment. Decided to just get rid of my car and walk everywhere. I made no effort to actively exercise, but just went about my daily life. What surprised me is that since I went car free, my average heart rate has been constantly declining and my weight has as well. I don't follow any kind of diet and don't really do intensive exercise (until recently). Just getting rid of my car and walking around massively improved my health in ways my apple watch can pick up.
shanusmagnus 3y ago
At least one such insurance plan has been around for a few years now. See e.g. All Savers Motion. (Can't find a link that gives plan details that isn't a PDF, sorry.)
fnands 3y ago
Very much a thing in some places. Discovery (SA) gives you rewards points for activities, among them step counts: https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/active-rewards-goals https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/active-rewards-goals
FrankoDelMar 3y ago
I have personally seen multiple health insurance plans offer a free Fitbit upon enrollment in their targeted coaching programs. They find the highest cost patients, typically with cardiovascular or diabetes risk, and use the data from a Fitbit, a bluetooth connected blood pressure monitor, glucose monitor, to identify who is at greatest risk and target them for "coaching," which tends to be a form of outsourced telehealth.

I feel this is a no-brainer and it's nice to have a meta study confirm it. I won't be surprised if we start seeing health insurance plans offer rebates or discounts to people who use them.

codeulike 3y ago

I was really surprised to read of the positive results. Because I naturally assume that fads are just fads, based on marketing or fashion, and all the activity tracking watches that appeared over the last decade really seemed like a fad.

Gigachad 3y ago
I feel like the gamification and reminders on the Apple Watch are not that compelling, but having long term history tracking of some stats actually is interesting. A few years ago I moved out of the suburbs and in to an inner city apartment. Decided to just get rid of my car and walk everywhere. I made no effort to actively exercise, but just went about my daily life. What surprised me is that since I went car free, my average heart rate has been constantly declining and my weight has as well. I don't follow any kind of diet and don't really do intensive exercise (until recently). Just getting rid of my car and walking around massively improved my health in ways my apple watch can pick up.

shanusmagnus 3y ago

At least one such insurance plan has been around for a few years now. See e.g. All Savers Motion. (Can't find a link that gives plan details that isn't a PDF, sorry.)

fnands 3y ago

Very much a thing in some places. Discovery (SA) gives you rewards points for activities, among them step counts: https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/active-rewards-goals https://www.discovery.co.za/vitality/active-rewards-goals

FrankoDelMar 3y ago

I have personally seen multiple health insurance plans offer a free Fitbit upon enrollment in their targeted coaching programs. They find the highest cost patients, typically with cardiovascular or diabetes risk, and use the data from a Fitbit, a bluetooth connected blood pressure monitor, glucose monitor, to identify who is at greatest risk and target them for "coaching," which tends to be a form of outsourced telehealth.