Kakao Healthcare said it has launched Phenoet, a new personalized weight management service integrated into its AI-based mobile health platform PASTA, in Korea.

By expanding the PASTA app’s capabilities from blood sugar monitoring to weight management, the company aims to enhance both its usability and convenience for users. Kakao Healthcare plans to continuously strengthen its chronic disease management services, with the long-term goal of evolving PASTA into an essential, comprehensive health management solution.

Phenoet is a hyper-personalized weight management service that analyzes data related to Diet, Exercise, and Mental health (D.E.M.). The service’s name combines the concept of phenotype -- a term frequently used in genomic analysis to describe observable traits -- with the word diet. By leveraging each user’s D.E.M. data, Phenoet diagnoses individual physiological and behavioral tendencies and delivers optimized lifestyle routines tailored to the user’s unique profile.

Based on the health data entered by users, Phenoet generates a "digital phenotype," which classifies users into one of 20 unique types. These include imaginative personas such as "Iron-Mental Avocado," "Single-Minded Locomotive," and "Crispy-on-the-Outside Croissant," designed to make the experience engaging and relatable.

Users receive lifestyle routines customized to their digital phenotype. Once a target weight and timeframe are set, the app initiates a “routine race,” offering tailored calorie reduction strategies, diet plans, and exercise guides. Daily progress tracking and personalized guidance help maintain user motivation over time.

The development of Phenoet involved collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of medical experts. Contributors include Professor Choi Hyung-jin of Seoul National University Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Professor Kim Su-jin of Korea University Anam Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, and Kakao Healthcare’s own medical staff.

To celebrate the launch, Kakao Healthcare is offering users 1,000 KakaoPay points if they create a lifestyle routine by the end of June. The pre-registration event held from April 23 to 30 attracted over 50,000 participants, highlighting strong consumer interest.

In addition, PASTA has introduced several new AI-powered features. The newly added "3D Body Scan" allows users to assess their body shape using a smartphone camera, making it easier to monitor specific body areas.

Kakao Healthcare plans to roll out additional features in the coming months, including a meal-based MBTI test, sleep analysis, exercise coaching, and remote photoplethysmography (rPPG)-based stress self-assessment.

“Phenoet offers a hyper-personalized weight management service by integrating diverse personal data with advanced AI technologies,” Kakao Healthcare CEO Hwang Hee. “With the PASTA app now enabling integrated management of both blood sugar and weight, we will continue enhancing the platform to establish it as an indispensable solution for chronic disease management.”