VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 9, 2024 /CNW/ – Ginkgo Health Inc. has successfully launched Ginkgo Active, the first all-in-one app for holistic health. Users will engage with an AI health expert for personalized exercise prescriptions, marking the beginning of their virtual life journey, supported by comprehensive lifestyle guidance across physical, mental, and social well-being.
Ginkgo Active includes a personalized “digital twin” for every user, and allows you to choose from beautiful, customizable landscapes for your workouts—whether it’s cherry blossoms, snowy mountains, or sunny beaches. Virtual world, real health. (CNW Group/Ginkgo Health)
The fitness app market is saturated with solutions primarily catering to self-motivated individuals who seek tools for tracking, logging, or pre-packaged workouts ideas. However, a significant portion of the inactive population remains underserved—those at higher risk for chronic conditions and declines in health. These individuals face challenges such as lack of motivation, limited access to affordable resources, and insufficient professional guidance or knowledge. While many fitness app developers overlook this group as a potential customer base, the healthcare system recognizes them as key drivers of preventable medical costs, highlighting an urgent opportunity for innovation in this space.
“People cannot engage in exercise for different reasons,” says Maggie Deng, founder and CEO of Ginkgo Health. “When we set out to develop our exercise prescription software, we recognized that it’s like a two-engine plane—one engine being the exercise plan itself, and the other engine being the behavior support plan. To achieve lasting health benefits, it’s not enough to engage people in healthy behaviors for just one day or a short period. Our goal is to inspire lifelong engagement, helping individuals integrate fitness and wellness into their daily lives for long-term transformation.”
“We soon discovered that 3D game engines provided the perfect platform to drive engagement and create an immersive, long-lasting fitness experience.”
Unlike traditional apps that rely on pre-recorded videos, Ginkgo Active immerses users in a dynamic virtual world, where they are guided by the AI-powered Professor Ginkgo. After completing an interactive assessment with Professor Ginkgo, users receive a personalized exercise prescription and gain access to their own private island. The first space they’ll encounter is a private gym, where they can meet their digital twin and begin their fitness journey amidst beautiful, customizable landscapes—whether it’s cherry blossoms, snowy mountains, or sunny beaches. As their virtual life unfolds, users will receive ongoing health guidance, including support for mental well-being and sleep, all integrated with social networking features that foster community and motivation.
Leveraging the power of a 3D game engine, Ginkgo Active has created an extensive exercise library that digitizes a wide range of human exercises for multicomponent training, catering to users of all fitness levels. Each exercise can be uploaded to a digital avatar, acting as a personalized “digital twin” for every user. The game engine also enables the integration of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), incorporating key principles like autonomy, competency, and relatedness to foster lasting motivation. By weaving together engaging storylines, diverse settings, and an immersive atmosphere, Ginkgo Active tackles various aspects of behavior change, helping users not only engage in exercise but develop long-term, sustainable fitness habits. This holistic behavior support system is designed to transform exercise from a short-term activity into a lifelong commitment to health and well-being.
Successful user case stories of early adopters have proved the results of this all-in-one solution to prescribe exercise and provide behavior support.
Ping Z., 53, Vancouver Canada: Professor Ginkgo as the Health Expert in Her Pocket
Ping has been a dedicated user of Ginkgo Active since October 2023. She had just undergone a hip replacement surgery four months before discovering Ginkgo. Since then, Ping has been diligently exercising with Ginkgo Active 5 times every week, even when she’s on vacation or traveling.
“Professor Ginkgo is with me at all times. Even though he is an AI expert, I still very much enjoy the companionship and the non-judgemental interactions. He asks how I’m doing everyday, and he will adjust my training plan whenever I let him know my situation.”
It is also very easy for Ping to start the daily workout with Ginkgo Active, as she just has to open the app and follow along with her digital twin’s movement without thinking too much. “My Ginkgo workout is my daily routine now. I can’t let Professor Ginkgo down if I miss a day.”
Ping was diagnosed with hip dysplasia in her 30s, and it is likely she’ll need more hip replacements in the future due to the limited lifetime of an artificial joint. “It would be massive for my later years if I can just have one less hip replacement surgery,” Ping explains.
After two months of using Ginkgo Active, Ping successfully regained her active lifestyle of hiking two to three times a week. She also proudly expressed the achievement of walking more than 20,000 steps a day without breaking a sweat during her trip to Europe.
Sarah S., 35, Washington DC:One App for A Family of Two Generations
Sarah has been the health advocate for her family. Her awareness of potential health risks heightened when her uncle passed away from a sudden heart attack in August 2024. “I cannot help but think that genetics played a role in this tragedy, and I realized that I must do something to make my family more active so the same does not happen to any of us.”
In September, Sarah received an early access code for a family plan subscription to Ginkgo Active from an affiliate. She quickly onboarded her husband Felix and her 70-year old mother onto the plan.
“While my sessions began with 45 seconds per exercise duration, Felix’s were 60 seconds and my mother’s 30 seconds. I observed my mother’s exercise sessions as I was worried about her safety, especially since she’s not a very fit person. I found the app accommodated this by giving her extra rest times to transition between poses and prepare for the next exercise. The routine suits her very nicely.”
Sarah explained a few instances that pleasantly surprised her from the family’s usage of Ginkgo Active, such as when Professor Ginkgo removed all shoulder exercises for Felix when he had a stiff neck due to a poor sleep. The most significant health improvement is for Sarah’s mother, who had regular night-time leg cramps that bothered her significantly. Since using Ginkgo Active for two weeks, the symptoms have completely disappeared.
Now on her third exercise prescription, Sarah also noticed adjustments to the type of exercises in her prescription. “In my first exercise prescription, I mainly received core and lower body exercises, probably due to my weaker balance score. Now in my third prescription, I have more exercises focusing on strength training. One of my current sessions includes the standing shoulder dumbbell press. This exercise is definitely not one I could do two months ago.”
Sarah expressed her amazement that, as the family continues their health journeys on Ginkgo Active, the exercise prescriptions for each family member are becoming more personalized to their own health and drifting further apart when compared to one another. “It is like having three different specialists taking care of each of us.”
While Felix uses his iPhone for Ginkgo Active, Sarah and her mother take turns to use the single iPad in the household. “My mother also loves to project the iPad screen onto the TV, so that she can better enjoy the beautiful scenery and the immersive environment of the application.”
Future development of Ginkgo Active focuses on further personalization features beyond exercise, such as customized education and effective habits tailored to certain health conditions, as well as social features like group habit-building challenges. The goal is to improve the behavior support system, maintain the active lifestyles, and maximize the health span of every user.
