A looming healthcare epidemic, and the response of Australian start-up AstonRX

Metabolic testing and fitness firm AstonRX empowers individuals on their lifelong wellness journey, including the fast-living, high-performance executive class.

The health and fitness sector is big business, and the global industry is valued at more than US$5.5 trillion. 

An Australian company carving out a niche in the space, AstonRX, provides science-led programs for metabolic testing and long-term fat loss. Empowering individuals to control their health journeys has been widely embraced, including by office executives notorious for their intense, high-stress lifestyles. 

“A lot of executives now realise they must eat and train like athletes to perform to their optimum, particularly in the long term. That’s what we can teach them to do,” says Donna Aston, founder of AstonRX. 

“Many executives, when almost at burnout, realise they must turn something around, or they’re going to end up letting down both their company and their loved ones. They realise, sooner or later, that caring for their health is not a luxury.” 

The data-driven basis of AstonRX’s programs appeals to this cohort, who, Aston says, is “very much driven by the numbers and by competition”. 

“They love that they can understand their health biomarkers and make improvements. It’s a non-negotiable, these days, that we need to make time and prioritise looking after our health – it’s not a luxury, it’s something we can’t ignore.” 

A frightening narrative

Longevity is an increasingly pervasive topic woven into every aspect of our lives, including politics, social media and economics. This magnifies the opportunity and risk, as we’ve seen locally through businesswoman and former supermodel Elle Macpherson’s recent controversial comments. Other prominent examples include the highly publicised views of wellness blogger Belle Gibson and former TV chef Pete Evans. 

We’ve also seen in recent years the explosive popularity of weight loss drugs. The use of GLP-1 medications, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjari, grew more than 300% in the three years to the end of 2023, with up to 5 million Americans alone using them. The market is tipped to add another 10-15 million users within 12 to 24 months. 

Aston says her biggest fear is that we’ll see an “epidemic of people who come off these drugs and now have less muscle and more fat than they did.” 

“Eighty-five per cent of people stop taking [weight loss medication] inside two years. They then regain all the weight, but not in muscle, in fat,” Aston says. 

“I’m frightened that in the next couple of years, we’re going to have an epidemic of people that have come off these drugs and now have less muscle and more fat than they did to begin with. They’re going to be in a worse state of health than they were and still struggling with managing their weight.” 

A collision of science and fitness

Asked about the prevalence of medical and pathology-led treatments in the fitness field, Aston says it’s largely absent, even today. But with more information at our fingertips than ever, consumers increasingly expect a holistic, multi-dimensional approach to weight loss and associated healthcare. 

“Pathology testing, which measures how your inner health is performing, is only performed by medical professionals if you exhibit symptoms or have a family history of a disease. It’s usually a reactive process,” she says. 

“There is so much we can tell by measuring metabolic biomarkers in our blood, and it should be done annually rather than just reacting to being ill. It’s more of a preventative approach to health by monitoring these markers.” 

Aston refers to the example of insulin resistance – a “canary in the coalmine” for the onset of metabolic disease and diabetes. While she suggests widespread preventative testing for this remains a decade or more away, “there are many things we can test in your blood that are going to determine your health and hopefully help you avoid and reverse some of these diseases.” 

“The testing and science have always been there; it’s just never really been used for prevention. Our medical system isn’t about that; it’s about reacting to symptoms and illness by providing pharmaceuticals.” 

“It’s not about looking at your diet and lifestyle and teaching people how to better manage their health from the inside. Teaching them how to understand their metabolic markers and knowing they have the tools to improve them,” Aston says. 

“I just want people to know there’s another way of doing it, with support and guidance.” 

For more information, visit www.astonrx.com