Australia’s AIA Health Insurance (AIA) said the practice of gifting an Apple Watch to someone who achieved certain fitness goals increased user activity by an average of 35 percent. In 2020, AIA Health Insurance introduced the Apple Watch to its Vitality program. Members who choose to sign up will receive a free Apple Watch as long as they continue to meet specific health goals set for them.
When comparing physical activity in 2019 and 2020, for Apple Watch users who participated in the AIA Vitality Program last year, we saw an average year-over-year increase in activity of 35%, with the most significant improvement in physical activity in the age group 50s and above, their activity increased by 51% year-on-year,” AIA said.
“The rich health and well-being insights that Apple Watch users derive from the device, combined with the behavioral principle of ‘loss aversion, which has been formally incorporated into the AIA Vitality Benefit Program, resulted in substantial increases in activity levels for participants.” AIA Checked the results of its 1198 members. In order for the results to be comparable, respondents must both opt-in to the Apple Watch program and be a full members of the AIA during 2019.
The company also compared data from the previous year to rule out random results. Throughout 2018-19, members’ physical activity remained steady at pre-event build-up levels,” the company said, “and then significantly increased exercise intensity following the introduction of Apple Watch benefits in 2020.
AIA Vitality member follow-up exercise behavior was reasonably consistent in the two years following the introduction of the Apple Watch benefit, proving that the program truly drove members who opted into the benefit to using the Apple Watch to increase their physical activity.