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Stepathlon: Making Corporate India Healthier

Published: Nov 2, 2013 06:58:09 AM IST
Updated: Oct 30, 2013 02:12:36 PM IST

Stepathlon: Making Corporate India Healthier
Mark your calendar: This month is ‘Walktober’ and the next month will be ‘Movember’. That’s how Ravi Krishnan, co-founder and CEO of Stepathlon, is trying to add a healthy step in the lives of executives through a corporate wellness programme. His aim: To get them to walk 10,000 steps a day for 100 days (by December 20).

Companies that sign up for the programme pay Rs 2,528 per participant (the costs include a pedometer). Employees then divide themselves into teams and enter the number of steps they’ve walked each day on the website to compete against each other on a virtual walk around the world.

Stepathlon’s small office in Khar, Mumbai, is bustling with activity: Its second year of operation has seen a 50 percent growth in participants to 30,897 this year.

Stepathlon works with 210 companies across 34 countries (including 4,000 participants from Australia). The result is a fitter workforce: 46 percent of the participants took less sick days last year, for example. Stepathlon has gone from 122 to 434 cities across India and ‘Stepathletes’ are spending almost 8 minutes on average on the website each day. “I was at a walk with HDFC Bank recently—one guy has lost 6 kg,” says Krishnan, “At Cognizant, someone had lost 4 kg. At Titan, a man said, ‘I haven’t taken an elevator since September last year.’ ” 

(This story appears in the 15 November, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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  • Asif Hussain

    I would like to understand more about this.

    on Nov 29, 2013
  • Vijina@probeseven

    An innovative idea highly beneficial for corporate society. Kudos to companies who participate

    on Nov 12, 2013
  • Asif Hussain

    Dear Mr Ravi, I am writing to you on behalf of Bristlecone, Mahindra group company. I would like to talk to you on your corporate wellness program. Pls share your number or we can talk on my number. My number is 9742888890. Regards Asif Hussain Asst Manager, HR

    on Nov 4, 2013