On October 19, the Fourth China Healthy Lifestyle Medical Conference was held in Beijing, where Ping An Health Insurance, in collaboration with the Fuwai Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, launched the industry’s first digital weight management program. This comprehensive solution leverages research outcomes and clinical experience to provide users with a full spectrum of digital weight management services, including assessment, diagnosis, lifestyle management, monitoring, and rewards, enabling users to lose weight in a scientific, professional, and effective manner.
Zhu Yougang, the Party Secretary and Chairman of Ping An Health Insurance, stated, “As a health insurance company driven by medical services, we actively implement the spirit of the new ‘National Ten Policies’ and promote the deep integration of health insurance with health management. Our digital weight management program is another innovative endeavor in the health management field, in line with the national ‘Weight Management Year’ initiative. By utilizing intelligent monitoring, gamified interactive experiences, and diverse reward systems, we offer users a friendly platform to achieve scientific and effective weight loss, helping to spread healthy lifestyles and build a healthier China.”
With the acceleration of life rhythms and changes in dietary structures, obesity and overweight have become increasingly severe health issues among Chinese residents. According to a study published in The Lancet, by 2030, 65.3% of adults in China are expected to be overweight or obese, leading to medical expenses that could exceed 400 billion yuan. To tackle this challenge, the National Health Commission has promoted the “Weight Management Year” initiative this year, aiming to establish a supportive environment for weight management through broad social participation, industry support, and technological innovation.
However, industry insiders note that while 80% of people express a strong desire to lose weight, the success rate for weight loss among the general population is only 0.5%. The lack of variety in available weight loss programs often leads to short-term rebounds and even irreversible health issues. Additionally, there is a scarcity of specialized weight management clinics and doctors, with only 238 specialized clinics and 1,250 bariatric surgeons nationwide, as highlighted in the “China Obesity Metabolic Surgery Database: 2024 Annual Report.” This shortage leaves weight loss seekers without access to comprehensive, scientific, and effective professional support, often resulting in ineffective weight loss attempts.
To address these pain points, Ping An Health Insurance has partnered with Fuwai Hospital to co-create the industry’s first digital weight management program, grounded in years of clinical practice at a national medical center. This program provides a complete digital weight management service, encompassing assessment, diagnosis, lifestyle management, monitoring, and rewards.
The digital weight management program will utilize big data models to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of users’ foundational information, including factors related to health, lifestyle habits, and medical history. This assessment considers height, weight, body type, medical history, food allergies, medication use, diet, physical fitness, and sleep patterns, ultimately generating a “disease diagnosis” digital label. By focusing on key elements such as creating caloric deficits, increasing physical activity, improving sleep quality, and building confidence in weight loss, the program will digitally manage users’ lifestyles and intelligently adjust based on progress data, ensuring that users achieve healthy weight loss.
Moreover, the program can monitor users’ activity data, weight loss statistics, and calorie intake. By breaking the weight loss journey into manageable tasks, users can earn rewards for completing gamified challenges. “By integrating gaming elements with weight loss goals, we’ve created an interactive experience that encourages users to adopt healthier habits while enjoying their weight loss journey,” Zhu Yougang explained.
In addition to launching this program, Ping An Health Insurance is committed to establishing new standards for health-related products. With the burgeoning market for health management and weight loss products, there has been an increase in product quality discrepancies and market disorder, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive evaluation and management system for health products. At the “Quality Path to a Healthy Life” insurance forum, Ping An Health Insurance, along with Peking University Medical Center and the China Health Care Association, initiated the establishment of health product evaluation and management standards to promote the standardization and regulation of consumer health products.
This management guideline will focus on three categories of health products: healthy lifestyle, sub-health care, and professional auxiliary care. With the expertise of Peking University Medical Center, the products will be categorized based on applicable scenarios, target populations, symptoms, and uses, creating a scientifically based labeling system; an expert consensus will form universally applicable industry standards; and a strict compliance review mechanism will ensure product safety, adhering to all relevant laws and regulations.
Lin Sheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Assistant General Manager of Ping An Health Insurance, expressed, “We hope this initiative encourages health product brands to strengthen quality management and innovation in development, providing consumers with safe, high-quality health products and services. We aim to make consumer shopping easier, faster, and more cost-effective while promoting the standardized operation of the health market, contributing to high-quality industry development.”
Ping An Health Insurance has always focused on the essential pursuit of a “healthy and fulfilling life” by providing a comprehensive “health insurance + medical service” model throughout the lifecycle. Moving forward, the company will continue to explore new paths for the integration of health insurance and health management, offering financial services that truly benefit the people.
