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Aetna employees helped test wellness platform

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After a yearlong pilot program with its employees, health insurer Aetna Inc. is offering employers a wellness engagement platform that includes voluntary genetic testing for metabolic syndrome, a common predictor of diabetes, heart and liver disease and other weight-related disorders.

The platform, launched via Toronto-based health management firm Newtopia Inc. includes a Web-based dashboard that links with a mobile lifestyle tracking app, a branded social health network, online gaming and wearable devices.

It compares employees' genetic test results with self-reported personality, life-style and motivational assessments to identify wellness programs and activities most likely to resonate with them. Newtopia health management coaches, personalized emails, texts and printed materials communicate the results and recommendations to employees on an individual basis.

Preliminary results from last year's pilot program showed that most the 470 employees who volunteered for the program reported an average weight loss of 10 pounds at the end of 12 months.

“We've been able to show that within a one-year time frame, there was significant and sustained weight loss among the participants in the program, as well as sustained engagement” said Dr. Gregory Steinberg, Aetna's New York-based head of clinical innovation.

Aetna and Newtopia began marketing the platform in February to motivate at-risk employees to be more active in managing their health. In particular, Dr. Steinberg said, the program might have the greatest appeal for employees who have tried to lose weight without lasting success.

“We heard from a lot of the participants that it reframed their sense of their problem with weight management and allowed them to view it in less blame-laden terms,” Dr. Steinberg said, adding that several of Aetna's corporate clients have committed to adding the platform in their wellness offerings.

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