13 Sep 2022
Withings launches smart scale that measures body composition, vascular age and nerve health in one device
BY Frances Marcellin
Withings, one of the original smart scale developers, is gearing up to launch a Body Comp smart scale and Health+ subscription package.
The pairing, which will come to market in October, will gather user metrics, analyse them in Health+ and deliver actionable plans around factors such as exercise and nutrition, with the goal of improving health outcomes and lifestyle behaviours.
“Knowledge is power, and to affect meaningful change, people need an in-depth understanding of health data, why it matters and how it changes,” said Mathieu Letombe, CEO of Withings.
“We've worked with a team of behaviour change, fitness, medical and nutritional experts for over 12 months to help interpret market-leading data from Withings devices. We're thrilled to unveil Health+ along with Body Comp, the first device to benefit from its advanced health metric assessments and habit-building modules on four key pillars: sleep, nutrition, activity and stress management.”
Letombe says that novel sensors, exclusive algorithms and patented electronics are behind the innovative capabilities of Body Comp. It can monitor biomarkers for body composition (weight, muscle mass, fat mass, water percentage, bone mass, BMI and visceral fat) as well as cardiovascular health (standing heart rate and vascular age). It also provide a nerve health assessment via electrochemical skin conducting (ESC).
“Vascular age is a key health biomarker used by the medical community and one of the best ways to assess cardiovascular health,” commented professor Stéphane Laurent of the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou in Paris – who was formerly president of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH).
The Withings team says this is the first scale to measure body fat, visceral fat, vascular age (the pliability of blood vessels), and nerve health in one consumer device. Body Comp provides a Nerve Health Score by assessing sweat glands in the feet. This helps users to track how prone they are to diseases such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes.
“Many people know what to do to improve their health, but it's hard to fit healthy behaviours into your life and to know if they're actually improving your health,” said Dr Shikha Anand, chief medical officer at Withings. “Health+ helps people understand how their behaviours impact their health, with bite-sized daily tasks that guide them to better results over the short, medium, and long term.
“While changes in fat, muscle mass or nerve activity may take months to evolve, other metrics such as weight, resting heart rate, or vascular age can change within weeks. Body Comp and Health+ show how these metrics improve with healthy behaviours, empowering people to take charge of their health every day.”
Withings was founded in 2008 and its range of devices includes connected scales, watches, thermometers and sleep trackers. Body Comp with Health+ is available from www.withings.com from 4 October 2022. Body Comp and 12 months of Health+ costs US$209.95 (€209.95, £199.95).
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