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We’re James, Felipe, and Bernard, founders of Mighty Health (https://mightyhealth.com/gift), a personal coach that helps people over 50 become healthier through exercise, nutrition, and wellness.
With Father’s Day coming up, we thought some of you might be in the same position as we are, worrying about our parents and loved ones, wanting to do more to help out in these uncertain times.
A few years ago, my dad was rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery. Though he luckily survived, this was quite the wakeup call—he had to change his lifestyle habits immediately, or else he’d have to deal with painful, worsening chronic issues for the rest of his life.
These changes—exercise, nutrition, sleep, and reducing stress—are hard as is, but even more so for folks over 50. Most wellness apps are designed for motivated millennials, making them feel less relatable to older adults. They don’t take into account evolving health needs, joint issues, or technical limitations. Personal trainers and nutritionists are expensive long-term and often inaccessible. And because our older loved ones are at higher risk of COVID complications due to their age, they won’t be able to return to gyms for the foreseeable future.
That’s why we started Mighty Health. Everything is designed intentionally for people over 50:
1. Coaching: A personal coach keeping them motivated through SMS, providing a real human relationship
2. Exercise: At home workout videos that are easy on the joints, led by top-rated certified trainers
3. Nutrition: A personalized plan and grocery list designed by cardiologists for heart health
4. Reminders: Preventative health checkup notifications (based on their age and gender) and medication reminders
5. Celebrations: Texts to family members about milestones in the program so you can celebrate together
Our app is simple to set up and use, accommodating large and high contrast text. We chose SMS (through Twilio/Front) for coaching because it’s a more familiar medium, like texting with your family. We integrate with Apple Healthkit and Google Fit, as well as a number of cellular blood pressure cuffs and scales.
Dr. Bernard Chang, our medical co-founder, is the Vice Chair of Research at Columbia University’s Department of Emergency Medicine and leads our team of physicians, trainers, and coaches who develop our plans and content.
These plans are optimized for health goals specific to people over 50, such as losing weight to prevent chronic diseases, becoming stronger/decreasing joint pain, or reducing their risk of heart disease. On average, 85% of our users stick to our plans for at least 12 weeks and lose ~10 pounds.
We’d love for you to check out our website at https://mightyhealth.com/gift and are eager to hear your feedback and ideas below. Feel free to reach out directly at james@mightyhealth.com as well!