Popular during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peloton Interactiverecently halted production of its bikes and treadmills due to a lack of interest.
As Peloton's stock sags, interested buyers have lined up to discuss a potential purchase of the company, as learned by The Wall Street Journal.One purportedly interested party is Amazon, reportedly speaking to advisors about a potential purchase. However, according to those familiar with the matter, there is no imminent deal at this time.
If a company were to purchase Peloton, they could pay quite a bit. WSJ notes that Peloton's market value is around $8 billion, down from its 2021 high of $50 billion.
Yet, the purchase would give the buying company access to Peloton's consumer base and their data. According to Backlinko, that number was around 5.9 million members as of last June.
The data could prove very useful to any company looking to grow its own health and wellness technology branch.
Methods
A total of 54 patients were enrolled in this pilot randomized controlled study. Of them, 29 patients received standard multidisciplinary preoperative care, while 25 patients participated in a 12-week supervised exercise program in addition to standard preoperative care consisting of strength and aerobic exercises three times per week in a fitness facility. The primary outcome was improvement in 6MWT. Secondary outcomes included other functional outcomes, quality of life, and anthropometric measures.
Results
Average attendance for the intervention group was 27.2 (75.6%) of 36 sessions. There was a mean improvement of 27 ± 10 meters in the intervention group compared with a reduction of 5 ± 10 meters in the control group (p = 0.003). Patients in the intervention group had significant improvement in all self-reported quality-of-life domains, particularly in the variables related to , hygiene, and emotions.
Conclusions
A 12-week preoperative exercise intervention was feasible and showed association with a statistically significant improvement in 6MWT and quality-of-life measures in patients awaiting bariatric surgery. The results of this study will inform sample size calculations and recruitment planning for a future study that will assess the longer-term benefits of a pre-surgical fitness intervention.Obesity is a significant global burden. Its prevalence has doubled in the last 35 years, with 39% of the world’s adult population being overweight and 13% meeting the criteria for obesity [1]. Most individuals achieve a modest weight loss of 5-7% with lifestyle interventions including diet, exercise, and behavioral modification [2]. Only 20% of adults who are trying to lose weight successfully attend to calorie restriction and exercise for at least 150 minutes per week [3]. Bariatric surgery is recommended for obese patients who are unable to lose weight despite lifestyle modifications.Bariatric surgery is the most efficacious intervention for sustained weight loss, comorbidity resolution, and mortality reduction [4]. According to the IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) Global Registry data, the roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) (38.2%) and the sleeve gastrectomy (46.0%) are the most commonly performed bariatric procedures worldwide. The RYGB is associated with 70% excess weight loss at two years following the procedure [5]. Several studies have demonstrated improved weight loss, comorbidity resolution, and mortality reduction with bariatric surgery [4].The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and short-term functional benefits of a 12-week preoperative exercise program in patients awaiting publicly funded bariatric surgery. The primary outcome was improvement in the six-minute walk test (6MWT). Secondary outcomes included changes in anthropometry, other functional outcomes (e.g., strength), and quality of life. It was hypothesized that a preoperative exercise intervention would result in improved general fitness for patients awaiting bariatric surgery.
Subjects
All adult patients (>18 years old) awaiting publicly funded bariatric surgery in Manitoba were introduced to the study by a certified trainer from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology at the Centre for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (CMBS), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, over a 15-month period. Inclusion criteria were tentatively scheduled for bariatric surgery within six months and able to participate in an exercise program. Exclusion criteria included orthopedic, neurologic, or cardiopulmonary conditions that precluded exercise, wheelchair-bound patients, inability to tolerate moderate physical activity, and inability to commit to attending regular exercise sessions.A total of 104 patients awaiting bariatric surgery who completed a Permission to Contact Form were contacted to participate in the study. Fifty patients declined participation in the study for various reasons after consultation with the study coordinator. Written informed consent was obtained from 54 patients at the initial appointment. Patients were assigned to the control or intervention groups after consent using a 1:1 randomization in blocks of 10 using a sealed envelope generated in SPSS Version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) by a third party at the time of consent.Patients in both the control and intervention groups received standard preoperative care consisting of two to four visits to the multidisciplinary team over a six-month time period. All patients attended a minimum of two visits, and additional visits were required to address vitamin or mineral deficiencies or failure to achieve program goals such as nutrition or exercise tracking. Patients were provided exercise counselling led by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Certified Exercise Physiologist (CSEP-CEP) where they discussed barriers to exercise and formulated an activity plan. Patients were required to complete Craving Change™, a program that focuses on dietary behavior modification. Demonstration of behavior modification that included tracking of caloric intake and physical activity was required prior to surgery.Patients in the intervention group participated in a 12-week exercise program at a medically certified fitness center in addition to standard preoperative care. Patients completed a health screening questionnaire and underwent a graded exercise test (GXT) prior to starting the intervention to ensure that there were no cardiac or respiratory conditions that would exclude them from the study. If patients tested positive on the GXT, they were subsequently referred by the center’s medical team to a cardiologist to be cleared for exercise.Each participant was given a goal to lift 60% of 1-RM for 12 to 15 reps for six exercises: the seated row, the seated chest press, the leg press, lat pulldown, overhead shoulder press, and the abdominal plank. During the first week, one series was performed with the goal of reaching three series by week 4. Once three series were possible, the loads were increased by 5% for lower body exercises and 10% for upper body exercises when participants could perform more than 15 repetitions. The 1-RM evaluation was repeated at mid-intervention and loads were readjusted.The primary outcome was the 6MWT, which is the distance a patient can walk unassisted on a flat surface in six minutes. The 6MWT was performed in an unobstructed corridor where a distance of 20 meters was marked using tape in 5-meter bouts. Participants were instructed to walk along the corridor for six minutes at a self-selected pace. Patients were not encouraged during this test and were not informed how much time was remaining. This outcome was selected as it has a good correlation with peak oxygen uptake via an exercise test and is well validated in the obese population [17,18]. The 6MWT was a feasible outcome that was also inexpensive and reproducible and could be easily performed [19].Baseline comparisons were made using Student’s t-test. Comparison of means at baseline and following 12-week intervention between the control and intervention groups was made with a mixed model using restricted maximum likelihood. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Pearson’s correlation was used to assess the relationship between % sessions attended and primary/secondary outcomes. The SPSS Statistics Program was used for all statistical analyses.
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