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Mercer health coach program targets weight loss for kids, families

Posted On: Mar. 16, 2016 12:00 AM CST

Mercer L.L.C. on Wednesday said it has partnered with Palo Alto, California-based Kurbo Health to provide employers a mobile health coaching and weight loss program for kids, teenagers and families.

The partnership aims to help employers assist employees and their families in reducing childhood obesity, thereby leading to healthier families and reduced health care costs, according to the statement.

Kurbo Health's mobile health platform uses the Stanford Children's Health Pediatric Weight Control Program to help influence healthy eating and physical activity among children and families, according to the statement.

The platform includes a mobile app that helps track food and activity and provide nutrition and exercise education, an automated feedback system to facilitate real-time healthy food decisions, and one-on-one support from health coaches who are paired to best suit the child's personality and interests, Mercer said in the statement.

“Employers have developed a keen understanding that the family dynamic has a huge influence on the productivity and overall well-being of the employee,” Dr. David Kaplan, senior partner and leader of Mercer's Health Innovation LABS, said in the statement. “Overweight children are 20 times more likely to need medical care, miss an average of 12 days of school, and incur three times higher medical costs. This directly impacts our clients and their employees through reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and higher medical costs.”