Withings partners with the American Diabetes Association on education initiative

The smart device company is sponsoring Project Power, and giving participants a free smart scale

Examining their feet can tell people who have diabetes a lot about their condition: of the over 37 million diabetics in the U.S. 25% of hospital admissions are for the foot lesions and, of those presenting with diabetic foot, 40% require amputations. 

Withings, a developer of digital health and wellness smart devices, has developed an advanced smart scale called the Body Comp is that can accurately measure multiple biomarkers, such as body composition, cardiovascular assessment, and electrodermal activity assessment. Now the company has signed on as a sponsor of The American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Project Power initiative.

Project Power is a no-cost lifestyle change program that tackles prediabetes and type 2 diabetes to help reduce its consequences. The idea is to raise diabetes awareness and offers diabetes risk reduction education in high-risk and vulnerable communities nationwide. As part of that partnership, Withings will be providing the Body Comp scale to Project Power participants.

"We had been engaging with the ADA for quite a while when we heard about Project Power. Withings Health Solutions has long supported Diabetes Prevention Programs in the US, and the ADA Project Power felt like a natural fit. We felt that providing a Body Comp scale rather than a regular smart scale would go a long way toward helping participants adopt healthier habits," Antoine Robiliard, VP of Withings Health Solution, told VatorNews.

Body Comp is the first Withings scale that measures body fat; visceral fat, aka the fat that wraps around abdominal organs; vascular age, a daily assessment of arterial health and overall wellness; and Electrodermal Activity, a score that measures and assesses the sweat gland activity in the feet and that may help people manage their overall health.

Almost as important as the biomarkers that the scale tracks is the fact that this scale benefits from Withings’ expertise in user experience, Robiliard said.

"What sets Withings apart is that we know how to build devices that people like to use, find easy to use, and use in the long term," he explained.

"We know how to find our way into the daily routine of our users and motivate them to use their devices regularly, and we know how much engagement is key when it comes to long-term health improvements."

ADA first launched Project Power for kids to tackle childhood prediabetes and, in 2022, extended it to adults living with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or people who are at high risk of diabetes. It is powered by HabitNu, a long-term partner of Withings and a provider of evidence-based solutions, AI-based technology, live coaching, and personalized nudges to build healthy habits to help prevent and manage chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Project Power participants work with HabitNu's health coaches in small group settings, in-person and online, to help reduce their risk and improve their diabetes knowledge, empowering them to reach their personal health goals and build new habits. The addition of the Withings Body Comp means participants can get information not only on their weight but also on their overall health and be better equipped to understand their trends and adopt healthier habits.

In September, the ADA launched a new initiative called the Amputation Prevention Alliance, designed to address the challenge of preventable amputation, along with partners Abbott, developer of medical devices, including glucose monitors; Cardiovascular Systems, developer of solutions for treating peripheral and coronary artery disease; CLIschemia Global Society, a company whose mission is to improve quality of life by preventing amputations and death due to Critical Limb Ischemia; and Podimetrics, a care management company that is looking to eradicate diabetic foot ulcers. 

"We are proud to partner with the American Diabetes Association and excited about the promising impact that Body Comp could have on Project Power and its participants. Our mission at Withings Health Solutions is to help patients and health professionals improve outcomes. By exploring new measurements with coherent coaching, we help ensure that people eagerly collect and act on previously missed health information," said Robiliard.

"Withings has long been supporting Diabetes Prevention Programs in the US, and the ADA Project Power is a natural fit for Withings. Both companies are also on a mission to educate people about their health and improve health outcomes."