A new partnership between Changing Health, a leading UK provider of behaviour change programmes, and Dutch health insurer Menzis means people in the Netherlands will soon be able to access personalised, digital support to manage their weight.  

The partnership comes at a crucial time for public health in the Netherlands, where it has been reported that over 50% of people are overweight or obese, and 8% of the population are projected to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes by 2025. 

Changing Health’s weight management programme comprises a course of education on lifestyle and metabolism, delivered via web browser or mobile app and tailor-made to each user’s individual circumstances, combined with one-on-one coaching from an expert trained in health psychology. It is clinically proven to deliver an average 4.3kg weight loss at 12 months.

John Grumitt, CEO at Changing Health, said: “This partnership shows our commitment to delivering to behaviour change at scale, together with international partners. It represents an important milestone in our mission to help millions of people make lasting lifestyle changes. 

“We already have strong links with the Netherlands, following the participation from Amsterdam-based SHIFT Invest in our 2018 funding round. We very much look forward to working with Menzis to build those links further.”

Menzis is one of the Netherlands’ largest health insurers. It will offer Changing Health’s programme via healthcare providers and as part of its SamenGezond (TogetherHealth) platform, which provides a package of digital resources to help people make healthier choices and improve their quality of life. 

Joas Duister, team manager Prevention and Projects at Menzis, said: “This is a really exciting partnership. It enhances our offering to our customers – we can now offer them digital lifestyle interventions to stimulate weight loss and diabetes prevention. Ultimately, it means more people in the Netherlands can live longer, healthier lives.”

‘Menzis ensures high quality and affordable care and strengthens the ‘life force’ of every human being. Menzis wants to contribute to solving the social problem of rising chronic diseases and healthcare costs. We do this by paying attention to the prevention of chronic diseases and increasing awareness of health and lifestyle so that people’s health and quality of life improve. We are convinced that there are lots of health gains to be made from lifestyle change with the result that everyone, including people with a chronic or temporary disorder, can live life as powerfully and independently as possible.”