Founder and CEO, Dr. Peter Rawlek, got the idea for the app by asking a question: why is it difficult to get people to be physically active? Delving into the science, he discovered that most people have very low scheduling self efficacy, meaning that they'll intend to engage in physical activity but aren't able to create a schedule that allows them to do it. In addition, most people learn to be inactive in childhood, with 75 percent of high school graduates having an unhealthy relationship with physical activity.

Drawing on nearly 300 behavioural sciences psychology studies, Peter and his team developed an app with 29 key behavioural change tools focused on supporting individuals pursuing new lifestyle habits.

GoGetFit has piloted the app in hospitals and with the Calgary Catholic School Board and is seeing good results. The pilot project with the school board involved more than 1,000 students in grades one to nine, one-third of whom were first-generation Canadians. Three teachers spent 20 minutes a week using the app with the kids and increased the activity of the students by 150,000 minutes by the fourth week.

"That's self-initiated, self-directed activity at home where lifestyle change needs to happen, connected with a parent," says Rawlek. "That's important because self-initiated, self-directed activity, if supported, is how you create self-efficacy, because a person owns what they're doing."

Rawlek says, of the 1,000 students who participated in the pilot project, less than 20 per cent of them will fall back into less active lifestyles. Meanwhile, the large percentage of students who keep active will reduce their chances of developing diabetes as adults.

The app allows healthcare professionals to monitor how patients are doing, provide encouragement, and get involved when physical activity is waning.

Educators, fitness professionals, physiotherapists, psychologists, and others are welcome to use the app to help their clients, patients, or students initiate lifestyle changes. And, doctors can bill Alberta Health for their work on the app helping hundreds of patients in as little as 10 minutes.

The patent-pending technology's ability for one provider to scale out and reach hundreds with such efficiency and precision is the game changer.

As a result of the successful pilot, GoGetFit will be partnering with PHITCanada in 2023 with the goal of reaching 100,000 students by the end of the school year, half a million by the end of 2023, and three million by 2024.

GoGetFit has also developed a strong relationship with Nova Scotia Health, where it is soon to be rolled out in all five health regions. The results there will help the company show other health regions what is possible.

GoGetFit has been funded in part by Rawlek and other private investors. It has also received two IRAP grants and three Alberta Innovates grants.