FitFeud Corporate Wellness Blog

The single best thing you can do for your health.

We all know it, but here's some interesting information on why exercise - and what kind of exercise - is so good for you. Even better, this short video shows you how easy it is (we're not talking about doing triathlons here) to realize all the benefits of the medicine of exercise.

The Consumer Health "Moon Shot"

Dare to dream.

"The United States should commit to a “moon shot” for consumer health to make this imagined world a reality. In addition to the health benefits, we would gain revenue from exports of consumer health products to countries like China and India, which are likely to become enormous health care markets. And the savings in health care costs could easily amount to a trillion dollars annually, as those costs are now about 18 percent of gross domestic product but could be brought closer in line with the 10 percent typical of modern developed nations." ~ Frank Moss, Our High-Tech Health Future

The Unique Opportunity for Health Technology Innovation

In an article in GigaOm today, Frank Moss, director of new media medicine at MIT's Media Lab says that the time is now for innovative technologists to look to health IT for opportunities.

"Now is the time for entrepreneurs to get on this issue. If you’re into technology and biology and social media and nano technology — it’s all coming together to create tremendous opportunities for people to use this data to change their health. It’s a great time for patient-centric healthcare."

I agree, but I say the time is yesterday from a human perspective. We need solutions now!

Technology has touched and changed the life of almost every human on the planet, and in most cases, in positive ways. Access to information is clearly a good thing. But the unique opportunity for health IT is that it can inspire action - and activity. This is not just about spreading knowledge. It's about spreading positive action, spurring physical activity, and affecting real change for real people.

Nowhere is this opportunity more real - and more pressing - than the problem of obesity. I'm not alone in thinking this. In October, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer portfolio issued a challenge to come up with innovative solutions to help people make the right decisions about their health. To help people make changes. Over half of the ideas focused on obesity.

"Our hope was to discover new interventions and insights that have potential to transform health and health care. In particular, we stated an interest in experiments that test innovative solutions to the challenges of obesity and consumer engagement. More than 50 percent of the applications we received focus on problems involving obesity. Nearly one-third involve consumer engagement."

FitFeud in the Washington Post

FitFeud, along with two other DC-based companies, HelloWallet and WiserTogether, were featured in today's Capital Business section of the Washington Post. The article, Local software upstarts use employers to find consumers, by Steven Overly, featured companies who have products that employers offer as an employee benefit.

FitFeud co-founder J. Nicholas Tolson thinks the potential payoff justifies the effort. His company allows employers to set up health and fitness contests that encourage employees to shed pounds.

“The bottom line is we can get into one company and reach tens of thousands of people at the drop of a hat,” Tolson said. “It may take three months to make that sale, but that’s still quicker than trying to touch thousands or hundreds of thousands of individuals.”

Indeed, this is one of the great joys of working with large companies. Once a company signs on with FitFeud, all their employees benefit in one fell swoop. We definitely feel this is the best way to make the biggest impact.

Happy Halloween! The Chemistry of Candy!

Don't worry. I'm not going to get all preachy about Halloween candy and its affect on your health or your waist line (everything in moderation...). Halloween is about having fun. Candy is fun! Science is fun! Especially, the science of candy!

The Washington Post scared up some videos from the American Chemical Society explaining about the chemistry behind candy. I can't say the videos, as presented by Richard Hartel, Ph.D., professor of food engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are particulary exciting, but it is interesting to hear about the science behind candy.

I find it fascinating the different forms sugar takes at various temperatures, so I love this stuff. It's also why I love Alton Brown's Good Eats show.

Happy Halloween!

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