Employers have a new tool in their arsenal that is helping employees achieve healthier weights and reduce their healthcare costs.
DayTwo, a precision medicine company, has released new results from its employer nutrition programs and health plans to combat high-risk and costly metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and prediabetes. The program offers users microbiome screening that measures how the body digests food in order to offer AI-powered nutrition plans tailored to their needs.
After a year, employees using the DayTwo program lost an average of 19 pounds and reduced their body mass index by 3.3 points, according to a press release. The program is designed to reduce drug dependency and help workers with obesity and type 2 diabetes lose weight naturally.
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“Our food-as-medicine approach is how we will turn the tide on obesity and metabolic diseases in this country,” said Josh Stevens, President of DayTwo, in a press release. “Employers, health systems and health plans can now offer their employees, patients and members a proven way to alleviate chronic illness.”
Metabolic disease is the fastest growing health problem in the United States because more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with obesity are at higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Treating obesity and other related conditions costs employers $ 480 billion in health care costs and $ 1.24 trillion in lost productivity and absenteeism, according to the Milken Institute, a health and wellbeing think tank. Health care costs for obese people are $ 1,429 higher than those of healthy weight, according to CDC data. In addition, overweight and obese employees miss 56% more work days than those of normal weight.
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While more than a third of obese people take medication to treat their illness, DayTwo aims to help employees lose weight by changing their diet and diet. Staff have access to thousands of meals and are working with a nutritionist to provide additional support and guidance.
“By providing an effective alternative to drugs and harnessing the predictive power of an individual’s gut microbiome, we see the life-changing and life-saving outcomes of diet,” said Stevens. “In addition, our science enables participants to continue eating foods that are part of their lives and their culture.”
As obesity and type 2 diabetes rates rise, DayTwo is joining a number of other nutrition programs that employers are introducing to help employees make healthier choices. Programs such as LifeSum, Grokker and Omada Health use technology to provide employees with accessible support on their health journey.
“Technology drives your motivation because it helps you track your progress,” says Marcus Gners, co-founder of Lifesum, a digital nutrition app. “Employers can actually address poor diets and lifestyles to empower employees to take better care of themselves so they don’t fall victim to trickle-down diseases.”
