In addition to your genes and your environment, your lifestyle also plays a key role in determining your health. To give you a more honest picture of your profile and your lifestyle, the Helan health insurance fund is launching the innovative ‘welwijzer’ tool that, among other things, takes a snapshot of your health via an AI facial scan. We did the test.
Taking such a facial scan is very simple. All you need is a computer or laptop at eye level so that your face fits perfectly into the picture. Then you sit quietly close to your screen for 20 seconds while peering into the camera. In the meantime, facial scanning technology ensures that a number of parameters are measured via your face and later processed into interesting health data. In concrete terms, the facial scanning software takes measurements based on very subtle color changes in your face. These are linked to your blood circulation, heart rate and breathing rhythm. Particularly well-circulated facial areas such as the cheeks and forehead are measured for this purpose. All these changes are invisible to the naked eye, but these minuscule shifts can be picked up and processed into results via artificial intelligence. It is best to take your time for this short scan, because as I will read later in my well-being report, your stress level is also mapped on this basis. So if you try out the scan quickly between two appointments, it can certainly leave some traces.
Questionnaire
This scan is only one part of the health check. Before you get to a well-being report, you must first complete an extensive questionnaire. This was drawn up and validated by specialized scientists and doctors, the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living and the Flemish Expertise Center for Alcohol and other Drugs (VAD). Your current routines are assessed on the basis of 6 themes such as nutrition, exercise, smoking, alcohol, mental well-being and sleep. Immediately afterwards you will get an initial idea of your score based on red, orange or green bars. A while later you will receive a more extensive well-being report in your mailbox containing your goals and results, followed by tailor-made recommendations. When you complete the questionnaire you already know more or less where you will end up in terms of behavior. Most people have an idea of where their pitfalls lie (that one too many drinks on Friday, the lazy couch that attracts more than working out at the gym), so the surprise lies mainly in what AI will reveal.
Heart rate variability
Your heart rate appears at the top of the facial scan report. Mine corresponds twice quite well with what my smartwatch simultaneously indicates. An average resting heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute is a fairly good barometer for good health. My heart rate falls right in the middle of that at 71. In well-trained athletes or people in good condition, the resting heart rate is often even lower. But if the resting heart rate is higher, this may indicate chronic stress. One of the best ways to consciously slow down your heart rate at rest is to regularly perform breathing or relaxation exercises.
Another indicator of the general resilience of your body is the less well-known heart rate variability (HRV), which should not be confused with the heart rhythm. The HRV shows how the interval between heartbeats varies. This happens between each heartbeat and involves very small changes of milliseconds. A lower HRV (less than 35 ms) may indicate that your body is more subject to chronic stress or illness, while a higher number signals better health. This is because heart rate variability is linked to the autonomic nervous system, the most important control center of our body that controls our heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and digestion. With a score of 112 ms, so high enough, I suddenly feel a lot less stress. The next parameter is breathing at rest, which fluctuates between 13 and 20 breaths per minute. A higher frequency, which is usually associated with inhaling high into the chest instead of through the abdomen, is typical during stress or illness.
Mental stress
But the sting comes at the end with the mental stress score, which indicates your body’s overall stress level at rest based on what your facial scan reveals. A score lower than 3/5 shows that you are under high mental pressure. I end up at 3/5 and am not at all surprised.
The scores are of course snapshots and may vary depending on the day, time or busy conditions you find yourself in. I did it three times on different days and mainly noticed fluctuations in my stress score. Of course, this by no means replaces a doctor’s consultation or a real diagnosis, but the personal tips behind each part are useful and practical enough to get started with. After all, every big change starts with a small step, right?
Free scan at helan.be/magazine/welwijzer
