Study: Real Appeal Digital Weight Loss Program Demonstrates Significant Medical Cost Savings
March 25 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Real-world data shows reduced medical costs
were at least two times more than program costs
A new study from Rally Health, Inc., published in the April 2021
issue of the peer-reviewed journal Obesity, showed significant
medical cost savings associated with its digital therapeutic weight
loss program Real Appeal® when compared to a control group of
similar individuals.
This study examined real world program data over a three-year
period to analyze medical cost trends for those participating in
the Real Appeal digital weight loss intervention program. The study
found that when comparing to a control group of similarly situated
people, medical cost savings to employers and payers participating
in Real Appeal were at least two times more than any program fees.
This new study builds upon a 2018 large-scale Real Appeal study,
also published in Obesity, showing the efficacy of the digital
weight loss program.
“Improvements in health resulting from digital weight loss
programs have been shown in other studies, but few have considered
the financial impact on employers and payers that sponsor these
programs,” said Cecelia Horstman, the study’s lead researcher and
former director of health outcomes at Rally Health. “These results
show that a digital weight loss intensive lifestyle intervention
program is a smart investment not only in terms of a participant’s
health, but also for the employers and health plans.”
In this new study, Real Appeal participants’ medical costs were
compared to a control group of non-participants who were matched by
age, gender, geographic region, health risk, baseline medical costs
and chronic conditions. Both groups had at least four years of
available medical data, and medical costs included the total amount
paid both by insurers and the study subjects.
Key findings from the study include:
- An average weight loss of 3% for 4,790 participants in Real
Appeal who attended at least one session over a 52-week period.
Medical expenditures for this cohort were 12% less than the control
group ($771 per person) and represented 2.3 times the medical cost
savings when compared to program costs.
- An average weight loss of 4.4% for the 3,990 participants who
attended more than nine sessions over a year. Medical costs were
14% less than the control group ($956 per person) and represented
2.0 times the medical cost savings when compared to program
costs.
“The obesity epidemic in America is real, it’s costly, and we
know it has a detrimental impact on the workforce. With this
research from Real Appeal, we have a better understanding that
digital weight loss intensive lifestyle intervention programs
deliver net positive results both in terms of employee health and
employer cost savings. We hope this contributes to the upward trend
in their use,” said Donna Ryan, MD, professor emerita, Pennington
Biomedical Research Center, and one of the study’s research
collaborators.
About Real Appeal
Real Appeal’s digital therapeutic weight loss approach is based
on decades of clinical research showing that simple steps over time
lead to lasting weight loss. Since the program’s launch in 2015,
hundreds of thousands of Real Appeal participants have collectively
lost more than 3 million pounds.
Real Appeal uses intensive lifestyle intervention methodology
based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s diabetes
prevention program curriculum to highlight healthy lifestyle
habits, including physical activity and healthy eating. Real
Appeal’s 52-week program is designed to induce clinically
meaningful weight loss and is one of only a few digital weight loss
programs that offers live, virtual group coaching led by trained
health coaches.
About the Study
“Return on Investment: Medical Savings of an Employer-Sponsored,
Digital Intensive Lifestyle Intervention, Weight Loss” was
published in the April 2021 issue of the peer-reviewed journal
Obesity. Cecelia Horstman, MSPH, former director of health
outcomes, Rally Health, led the study. Co-authors included obesity
medicine specialists Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP, FTOS, DABOM;
Caroline Apovian, MD, FACP, FTOS, DABOM; Donna H. Ryan, MD; John
Foreyt, PhD; Hannah Tuttle, MPH; and Donald Williamson, PhD.
Funding for the study was provided by Rally Health, Inc.
About Rally Health, Inc.
Rally Health, Inc. is a consumer-centric digital health company
that makes it easy for individuals to take charge of their health
and collaborates with health plans, health care providers, and
employers to engage consumers. The company’s flagship offering is
Rally®, a leading digital health platform that delivers web and
mobile solutions to help people manage their employee benefits,
health and well-being, and health care needs. Nearly 60 million
consumers have access to the Rally platform through more than
200,000 employers, and health plans including UnitedHealthcare and
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Rally Health, which is part
of the Optum business of UnitedHealth Group, has been working since
2010 to transform the consumer health experience. For more
information, please visit www.RallyHealth.com.
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Shannon Moore | 415-200-8516 press@rallyhealth.com Darcy Provo
Darcy.Provo@rallyhealth.com
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