Lark Health, a chronic disease prevention and management company, unveiled plans to integrate genetic information from 23andMe into its nationally recognized diabetes prevention program.
Lark Health's diabetes prevention program uses artificial intelligence to provide personalized health and wellness coaching to its users. The AI coaching service — which tackles lifestyle changes like weight loss and physical activity — is a reimbursable medical benefit under the CDC's Diabetes Prevention Program, which assesses behavioral and lifestyle programs that tackle prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.
Now, 23andMe customers can incorporate their genetic data into Lark Health's diabetes prevention program to further personalize the experience. For example, Lark Health's AI coaching service could use information from 23andMe's genetic weight report to rank the potential affect that food choices may have on a user's weight.
"Together, we have launched a new type of personalized and scalable counseling platform for chronic condition management based on genetics, and we hope to help millions live healthier lives more easily," said Julia Hu, CEO and co-founder of Lark Health.
The integration builds on 23andMe's research into body weight. Based on genetic data from 400,000 customers, the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company identified which lifestyle choices are associated with the biggest weight differences among customers with similar genetic information.
"Access to your genetic information is really just the beginning," said Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe. "Using that information to prevent serious health consequences is the next critical step."