By wearables, the controversial Trump appointee is most likely talking about devices like smartwatches. For example, the Apple Watch has become a tool that many Americans use to monitor their health. Next week Kennedy’s department will kick off one of the biggest campaigns in HHS history. This campaign will focus on encouraging Americans to use wearable technology to “take control of their own health.”
Even though there are limitations to how much a wearable device can improve one’s health, Kennedy said during the hearing that he has had friends who “lost their diabetes” after wearing glucose monitors. These monitors allowed them to see the impact their dietary choices had on their blood sugar. Continuous glucose monitoring is said to be effective in giving type 2 diabetics the incentive to change their diets and exercise which could reportedly reverse type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that leads the body’s immune system to destroy the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body produces very little or no insulin. In Type 2, the human body doesn’t produce enough blood sugar or doesn’t respond to the body’s own insulin.
Kennedy points out that purchasing a wearable device like a smartwatch could cost individuals as little as $80 per month compared to the price of weight loss drugs like Ozempic which have a ton of side effects and can cost over $1,000 per month.
