Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, constituting more than 70% of all deaths or roughly 41 million people every year.

Of those, 85% of ‘premature’ deaths, classified as occurring between the ages of 30 and 70, are in low- and middle-income countries¹. In India, roughly 4 million people die each year from cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and diabetes. These diseases account for 16,939 disease adjusted life years lost (DALYs) per 100 000 in India². Lifestyle factors such as unhealthy eating habits, tobacco smoking, a rise in alcohol intake and increased urbanisation are all key drivers of the growing burden of NCDs in the country³. The greatest increase in these factors is among low-income populations.

Globally, for low-income households, NCDs can put a significant strain on finances. These diseases on average lead to higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs than any other disease type⁴. This is in large part due to the chronic nature of these diseases and the high cost associated with long-term care. Medical expenses can often result in catastrophic health expenditure for the patients and their household, pulling them into or further into poverty and entrenching inequality in society⁵. Such high costs can also act as a deterrent for patients who should seek treatment, further adding to the incidence of premature mortality.

Premature deaths due to NCDs have a high socio-economic impact as the affected are most likely the main income earner inthe household⁶. On a macroeconomic level, NCDs reduce the productivity of the workforce, resulting in the reduction of overall economic output. It is estimated that every 10% increase in NCD mortality results in a 0.5% reduction in global annual economic growth^7.

HealthifyMe is a fast-growing, digital health service focused on wellbeing, fitness and nutrition, and the largest health and fitness app outside of the US and China. It aims to guide users through lifestyle and behavioural changes to improve health outcomes.

The company was established to meet the gap in affordable tools for food tracking in India, and to help curb rising obesity rates. Since that time HealthifyMe has expanded its products and services to include nutritional information, artificial intelligence (AI) and smart coaching, exercise libraries, telemedicine, and real-time metabolic health panels to address obesity-related risk. Its growth is driven by its nutrition and fitness coaching subscription plans for weight loss and disease reversal.

HealthifyMe offers a wide spectrum of pricing across a variety of products targeting both mass market and premium segments. As a result of its affordable services and freemium model, 80% of HealthifyMe’s free users are low-income while 60% of its users are in Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 towns. More than half of the company’s users are female, with several of HealthifyMe’s products specifically targeting female health conditions.

In 2022, HealthifyMe launched HealthifyPro, its flagship fitness plan incorporating a Bluetooth-linked body composition scale in conjunction with a continuous glucose monitor that measures the reaction of the body to certain foods and activities.

Integration of this technology represents the next step in HealthifyMe’s ability to provide accessible preventative healthcare solutions. Already, these products have resulted in a decline in lifestyle diseases for 80% of Pro users and an average 15% drop in users’ blood glucose levels. The company continues to make disruptive advances on the product front, where they have been quick to take advantage of the rise of local language models and the advent of Generative AI for products such as their Smart Plans. The technology powers these plans to provide deeper insights to existing users and also enables greater scale across new markets by overcoming local language barriers.