Under the deal, mPort’s 3D body measurement solution, mPod, will be installed in LA Fitness centres nationally in the US, starting with California.
The agreement follows a three-month pilot by LA Fitness of mPod, a fully-automated technology that provides a complete 3D image of a user’s body and all the necessary data for a comprehensive health overview – including body mass index, body composition and body fat composition.
mPort, which launched in Australia in 2013, says it has already attracted more than 100,000 mPod users in Australia.
|
|
Promoting itself as one of Australia’s fastest growing startups, mPort has secured Westfield as a major partner and raised $12 million in investment capital from private backers.
“As much as we like to think we are the same, we are not. A human body comes in every shape and size, and one size does not fit all when it comes to health and fitness. In a world fixated on weight and waist size, mPort is championing a new era in body health assessment with a mission to help users understand their own body shape and live a confident, healthier life,” says mPort co-founder and chief executive, Dipra Ray.
“We’re thrilled to expand our footprint into the United States and to be working with LA Fitness. We look forward to enhancing the health journeys of LAF members across their locations nationwide.”
Bill Horner, senior vice-president/chief real estate officer, LA Fitness, says LA Fitness has “always stressed the health benefits of staying with a fitness regimen – in fact, those benefits are the cornerstone of our mission statement”.
“Tracking progress is essential to any programme, and seeing progress is the core of motivation.
“mPod technology provides feedback on progress in increments that most people haven’t seen before, and delivers it with the speed that consumers have come to expect in everything these days. We feel that the mPod is an invaluable tool in refining workouts to maximise benefits and provide that sometimes elusive 'motivation' through almost real-time feedback on progress, and we are excited to be bringing it into our clubs for our members.”
Ray says that mPods use safe, non-invasive infrared technology to capture 200,000 data points to map an individual’s unique body shape. The user’s body is not exposed to any radiation, which Ray says makes the mPods safe for all ages, including pregnant women and people living with pacemakers.
The mPod data helps users understand how their measurements affect their personal health and well-being, allowing them to set and visualise goals and track changes in their body over time – and an accompanying mPort app for iOS and Android gives users real-time monitoring of their health record and progress.
