Obesity? There’s an AI-driven app for that

VANCOUVER – MYNDSET V1.0, an advanced digital therapeutic program for people with obesity, has just launched on the App Store for iPhones. Anyone in Canada or the USA wanting to try this blend of augmented and virtual reality combined with AI-driven cognitive behaviour therapy and gamification can download the app for free until the end of July.

The app has been clinically tested and has been shown to be five to seven times more effective at controlling weight than more conventional diet and exercise programs, the company said.

It is nearly as effective as bariatric surgery or GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, without the risks of surgery or the expense and side-effects of drugs.

Obesity is a global epidemic. The World Health Organization estimates that one billion people – one in eight – live with obesity. Nearly half of Canadians are overweight, of which nearly 9 million have obesity.

More than 70% of the US population is overweight. 40% of Americans are clinically obese. That number will reach 86.2% by 2030 if action is not taken. Approximately 75% of Mexico’s adult population is either obese or overweight, which makes it one of the world’s leading countries in both adult and childhood obesity.

But solutions are hard to find. The difficulty is that obesity is not a simple matter of eating too much and exercising too little. Obesity is a progressive, chronic, and expensive disease centred in the brain. It is the cause of 200+ co-morbidities and premature death.

Obesity costs more than $3.8 trillion/year. According to a JAMA study obesity takes an average of 5-20 years off a person’s life. Americans try on average 126 diets in a lifetime. They use an enormous amount of pills for depression, anxiety, pain and more. 256,000+ Americans had expensive bariatric surgery in 2020. Thanks to breakthrough GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, there is an increased awareness and hope for better treatment of obesity and weight loss.

The MYNDSET app uses the most ubiquitous device on the planet – the smartphone – to provide affordable access and deliver better health outcomes for everyone.

“Our solutions teach our customers to understand obesity, learn and practice new skills through virtual simulation, control food cravings, improve mood, and reduce anxiety and depression,” said Michael Mircea Bidu (pictured), founder & CEO of MYND Therapeutics. “We also work with doctors, therapists and nutritionists to provide effective obesity solutions. MYNDSET is an app that works for virtually everyone, from an 18-year-old student in Vancouver to a 65-year-old retiree in Houston, Texas.”

MYNDSET uses augmented reality to simulate reality and retrain the brain and augmented reality or virtual reality to fit into daily life and provide guidance throughout every day activities like eating, exercising, practicing skills, reflecting, and more.

There are three basic layers to the app:

1. Augmented Reality taps into the emotional relationship people have with food through powerful 3D visualization and simulation, which leads to smarter decisions about food and eating habits.
2. Artificial Intelligence is used to empower consumers, patients and providers. MIA (MYND Intelligent Assistant) was developed and trained to guide, assess, motivate and recommend different user health journeys for different consumers or patients. The goal for MIA is to combine the wisdom of crowds with the wisdom of the experts and deliver precise and personalized therapies.
3. Actionable gamification is the cutting edge of behavioural design. It is ‘learn by doing,’ or ‘experience on demand.’ MYNDSET uses proven video games methods, behavioural models and user-friendly designs to encourage and empower people to do their best everyday.

The technology can be used to treat people with obesity at risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic joint pain, certain cancers, stress, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and mood disorders. Our solutions can be used as self-care, as companion with GLP-1 drugs and as digital therapy programs for patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The solution includes neurobehavioral therapies in forms of mobile apps and a digital health platform that will change how people eat, exercise, sleep, connect and even order food.

Download MYNDSET v1.0 for FREE in the App Store between July 1-31, 2024.
Click here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myndset/id6502347145
For Canada and the United States only.

About MYND Therapeutics
MYND Therapeutics is a purpose-driven consumer health technology company based in Vancouver, Canada that makes software-as-therapy. MYND’s creative disruption thesis is that software-as-therapy can improve a person’s health as much if not more than a drug can but without the same cost and side effects. Our customer-centric, science-based and clinically proven digital therapeutics will change the prevention, treatment, and management of conditions like obesity and eating disorders that are genetically inherited and centred in the brain. For additional info please visit myndtx.com.