Fitbit, Solera Health Expand Diabetes Efforts

Fitbit and Solera Health announced on March 6 that they have expanded their partnership that seeks to reduce the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Solera, an integrated benefit network, will make Fitbit devices available to all Solera patients who participate in the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).

In a study, Solera found that its patients who enrolled in the DPP who used a Fitbit device were more active and lost more weight during the program than those who did not. Losing weight and increasing activity level have been found to significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Fitbit has been diversifying its business in the past few years as sales and consumer usage of its wristband activity trackers and smartwatches stagnated and then declined. Last year, Fitbit acquired Twine Health, a coaching platform for users who have diabetes or hypertension or who wish to stop smoking or lose weight, and also announced plans to integrate its user data into electronic medical records using Google’s Cloud Healthcare API.

Although Fitbit continues to refer to itself as “the leading global wearables brand,” its devices compete in the consumer market with wearables from Apple, Garmin, Samsung and other companies. The company’s recent focus, through its Fitbit Health Solutions division, is to be viewed as a more “serious” health and wellness company, with potential revenue sources including health insurers and self-insured employers.