A national trial for digital care

Finland's Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has moved its digital care trial (digihoitokokeilu) into the pilot phase. Ten digital care solutions were selected from 24 applications, assessed on how well they suit the treatment of disease or the prevention of its worsening, and on the evidence of their effectiveness.

The trial brings public and private organisations together to test how digital care solutions work in real healthcare operations. Its goal is a national model with shared rules for evaluating, procuring, distributing and using digital care solutions safely and equitably. DigiFinland coordinates the trial with the Ministry, in partnership with Kela, Sitra and FinCCHTA.

Delivered together with Sensotrend

Metabite entered the trial in collaboration with Sensotrend, one of the selected providers. Together, the two companies offer Metabite's AI-powered nutrition coaching as a solution that care teams can bring into their existing systems.

Built to fit clinical systems

Metabite's solution supports SMART on FHIR launch, the open standard for starting apps directly from electronic health records. Professionals don't need another system to log into. They open Metabite from the tools they already use, with the right patient already in context.

"This trial is a step toward permanent procedures for evaluating, procuring and using digital care, supporting the safe and equitable development of digital health in Finland."Jenny Vuollet, Business Director, DigiFinland (translated from Finnish)

Growing demand, tighter resources

Finland's wellbeing services counties face rising demand for care while resources tighten. Used wisely, AI can free professionals' time for the human contact and care that only they can give, and deliver cost-efficient, personalised services such as nutrition guidance.

AI has already been piloted in more than 300 projects across Finland's wellbeing services counties. The next step is moving from experiments to broad, everyday use. To speed that up, Sitra opened a funding call in January–February 2026. It received 15 applications and funded three projects with a total of €1,156,041. One of them is the HUS project for AI-assisted obesity treatment.

"Wellbeing services counties face growing demand and tightening resources at the same time. Used strategically, AI helps direct professionals' time to where people need it most. The funded projects already show strong adoption in the field and real benefits. The next step is to scale proven solutions broadly."Sasa Kivisaari, Leading Specialist, Sitra (translated from Finnish)

What the pilot showed

HUS piloted AI support in its Health Weight Loss Coaching program. The results were clear enough to scale:

• Professionals were able to treat significantly more patients
• Professionals' workload eased
• Patients responded positively to the new way of working

HUS's weight management program has used Metabite's technology for more than three years. Read the HUS case study →

What happens next

With Sitra's funding, HUS will extend the AI tools across the full year-long treatment pathway and build the model into the national service system so that it is available to everyone in Finland. The focus now shifts from technical development to operational change: training, communications and a thorough assessment of impact.

Metabite's role

The project is led by HUS, in a consortium with Metabite and the University of Helsinki. Metabite provides the AI coaching platform that lets each professional support more patients.

Part of a bigger shift

The call is part of Sitra's Digisote project, which aims to speed up the renewal of social and health services through digitalisation, health data and AI. It also supports Sitra's wider goal of raising public-sector productivity with data and AI.

A challenge for health and for security

The functional capacity of young adults in Finland is declining. That affects public health, and it affects Finland's comprehensive security.

NutFinForce responds with a digital, AI-powered solution that helps conscripts adopt healthy lifestyle habits. It strengthens the role of nutrition as an element of military capability, alongside physical exercise. The project was announced on 12 August 2026 by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the University of Helsinki and the Centre for Military Medicine of the Finnish Defence Forces.

"The functional capacity of those liable for military service is a key element of Finland's defence capability. NutFinForce provides a new tool designed to develop performance systematically and over the long term."Colonel (Med.) Ilkka Laaksi, Director, Centre for Military Medicine

Delivered through Metabite

NutFinForce is delivered through the Metabite platform and its AI-based health technology. Conscripts receive coaching through a mobile app. The content is based on scientific evidence and supports personalised, lasting changes to how they eat and live.

The platform builds on a database of more than 8 million detailed meal classifications, gathered over ten years of work with nutrition therapists and clients ranging from elite athletes to people living with chronic conditions.

The pilot: Hattula, October 2026

A large-scale pilot study will be carried out at the Armoured Brigade in Hattula in October 2026, with incoming conscripts taking part on a voluntary basis. Coaching starts before military service, continues throughout the service period, and carries on after discharge.

The study is separate from the Defence Forces' catering services. All research activities take place during participants' own time.

"The aim is not only to improve performance in the short term but to achieve lasting lifestyle changes with a wide impact on public health and the resilience of society."Professor Kristiina Patja, University of Helsinki

From one brigade to a whole age group

The model is scalable and personalised, with potential benefits that reach from the individual to the population as a whole. NutFinForce is dual-use technology that works in both military and civilian settings. The long-term goal is to introduce it on a broad scale and improve the performance of an entire age group as part of Finland's comprehensive defence.

Built for international cooperation

The project is building international cooperation through NATO Defence Performance networks and with research partners in Europe and the United States. A digital, personalised and cost-effective model answers a growing need to improve population performance in both defence systems and civil society.

How it started

NutFinForce was already in preparation in April 2025, when the Centre for Military Medicine, the University of Helsinki, the City of Riihimäki and Metabite brought Lifestyle & Performance Medicine experts from Finland, the US, the UK and Lithuania together in Riihimäki. Read the summit story →

Partners

• Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: funds the NutFinForce pilot
• University of Helsinki: research collaboration
• Centre for Military Medicine, Finnish Defence Forces: research collaboration
• Metabite: AI coaching platform and mobile app

The threat no one trains for

Rising rates of chronic disease pose a threat to national security. There is a pressing need for scalable solutions that enhance warfighter readiness and improve overall health and well-being in the long term.

Lifestyle & Performance Medicine (LPM) was designed to address exactly this problem in a military setting. To move it forward, Metabite helped organize a four-day summit dedicated to enhancing warfighter readiness through LPM.

Five hosts, one table

The summit was hosted by:

• The Finnish Center for Military Medicine (Finnish Defence Forces)
• The City of Riihimäki
• The University of Helsinki
• Metabite
• Defence Innovation Network Finland (DEFINE)

Learning from NATO allies

The summit covered multiple examples of NATO allies in the US, the UK and Lithuania putting LPM into practice, along with plans to do the same in Finland. LPM professionals from allied nations travelled to Finland to share what has worked for them, and what it takes to make it stick.

"Let's stop admiring the problem and get to work!"Regan A. Stiegmann, DO, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM, keynote speaker

Where digital tools fit

Digital tools let LPM professionals reach a far wider audience while still tailoring their services to the needs and goals of each individual, in a cost-effective and evidence-based way. That is the gap Metabite is built to close: AI handles the day-to-day nutrition work at scale, so the professionals can focus on the people who need them most.

What comes next

Concrete next steps were agreed at the summit, and we look forward to sharing them in the coming months. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen, and a special thank you to the LPM professionals from our NATO allies who joined us in Finland to share their insights and expertise.

Executive Summary

Traditional corporate wellness has failed to move the needle on America's chronic disease crisis. But one self-insured employer decided to try something radically different. Central Garden & Pet (CGP), facing soaring healthcare costs and low employee engagement, piloted an intensive therapeutic lifestyle change program (ITLCP): the PLANTSTRONG by Metabite 12-week program. The result? Employees reversed diabetes and hypertension, lost weight, reduced medication use, and asked for more. This success story explores the CGP journey and how their leadership may be a roadmap for other employers.

A Legacy of Health: Why Central Acted

When Central Garden & Pet Chairman Bill Brown asked what kind of legacy he wanted to leave his workforce, he chose to prioritize their health. The usual wellness offer of apps, gym reimbursements and low-impact incentives wasn't working. With healthcare spend as the second-largest corporate expense after salaries, CGP took action. The company launched the PLANTSTRONG by Metabite 12-week program to bring a Food as Medicine solution directly to its employees.

The Intervention: A Real Program for Real People

The PLANTSTRONG by Metabite 12-week program runs nationwide and delivers:

• Shelf-stable, medically tailored pantry kits
• AI-based mobile app with customized large language model (LLM), image recognition for food images and customer branding
• Daily coaching using multiple behavior change models empowering employees to make changes at a pace that is sustainable for them
• Short video lessons each week explaining the science behind the benefits of real food rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins
• At-home biometric testing and connected devices
• A supportive peer community

This was not an ordinary corporate wellness program. It was a high-touch, high-engagement, therapeutic intervention grounded in clinical evidence, and it reached employees from the South to the West Coast with culturally sensitive, accessible materials.

"I lost 20 pounds, got off my statin, and reduced my insulin."Charles, program participant

Outcomes That Matter

Employees benefitted from:

• Reversal of pre-diabetes and diabetes in participants.
• Average weight loss of 4.4% among those overweight or obese, with 72% losing weight.
  • 30+ lbs weight loss in multiple cases
• Reduced or eliminated type 2 diabetes, cholesterol lowering, and high blood pressure medication.
• 47% achieved a 10% LDL reduction or reduced cholesterol medication, with as much as a 23% drop in LDL.
• 58% improved blood pressure or reduced medication, with some participants needing to stop or reduce medications to avoid side effects of being overmedicated.
• Enthusiastic engagement with >5% of employees enrolled, with many being recruited by voluntary program ambassadors, and 73% staying engaged for at least 8 of the 12 weeks.
• Extraordinary Net Promoter Score of 76 (industry average 50–70) and employee demand for a continuation program

"I was doing Weight Watchers at the same time and honestly, I liked this program better."Lisa M., program participant

One of the largest health care providers in the Nordics, HUS covers 2.2 million lives in total. Their evidence-based national weight loss program has used Metabite.com's technology for over 3 years with thousands of patients. A new partnership brings digital nutrition coaching to thousands through Metabite's data-driven platform, focused on sustainable, plant-based behavior change.

The expansion will focus on incorporating new AI-based features as part of a program funded by Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö (the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland) and managed by DigiFinland Oy, and is aimed at helping health care providers implement AI-based tools.

The collaboration includes a research collaboration with the University of Helsinki to assess the efficacy of the new features, which are aimed at helping coaches for the Painonhallintatalo weight loss program work with 50% more patients.

We look forward to continuing our work with Prof. Kirsi Pietiläinen MD PhD, Laura Suojanen, Susanne Räsänen and the rest of the Painonhallintatalo team as well as Prof. Kristiina Patja MD PhD and Prof. Paulus Torkki PhD at the University of Helsinki!

The question

Eating late has been linked to weight gain, but clock time can mislead. Two people can eat dinner at 8 pm while their body clocks sit hours apart. The study asked whether meal timing relative to each person's own body clock is linked to body fat.

How meal photos made it possible

To answer that, researchers needed exact meal times from everyday life, not from memory. For 7 consecutive days, participants used MealLogger to photograph every meal, snack and drink except water, with an object of known size in the frame for portion estimates. Each photo was time-stamped and reached study staff through the web straight away, so dietary staff could follow up within 24 hours if anything was unclear.

Logging held up: 93% of participants recorded meals on all 7 days and every participant logged at least 6 days.

What they found

• Participants with higher body fat reached the midpoint of their daily calories 1.1 hours closer to melatonin onset, the start of the biological night, than lean participants.

"These results provide evidence that the consumption of food during the circadian evening and/or night, independent of more traditional risk factors such as amount or content of food intake and activity level, plays an important role in body composition."McHill et al., The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017

Reading the results carefully

This was a cross-sectional study of college-aged adults, so it shows an association, not cause and effect. The authors point to controlled trials as the next step. Their findings are one reason meal timing is worth tracking alongside what people eat.

Why it matters for Metabite

The study shows what a photo-based food journal can do in clinical research: high adherence in everyday life, a precise time on every meal, and a record that professionals can review and code. Every meal logged in Metabite today still carries its time, so care teams can see when people eat as well as what. The study was run by the hospital research team, using MealLogger as its meal-recording tool.