How we helped young people build sustainable wellbeing habits with Glow Up with 42

The Glow Up with 42 programme was built on the understanding that wellbeing habits are shaped by daily realities, not ideal conditions. Rather than assuming what young people needed, the work began with listening.

‍

Youth insights gathered through surveys, focus group discussions, and foundational meetups informed how the programme was designed and communicated, ensuring it remained practical and relevant. To test what a more holistic intervention could look like, Glow Up with 42 was piloted as an 8-week programme with 12 Malaysian youth aged 17 to 40, intentionally kept small to allow for depth and personalisation.

‍

The programme was designed as a lifestyle medicine-informed intervention, rather than a typical wellness challenge. Participants completed pre- and post-programme blood tests, used continuous biometric tracking, and followed a structured journey built around six pillars of wellbeing: sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, relationships, and purpose.

‍

Health science was translated into manageable, everyday actions through a LEARN-DO-REFLECT structure. Gamified weekly challenges were developed in partnership with Gametize, supporting habit-building through points, feedback, and progression. Weekly progress across behaviours and routines was tracked via the 42 app, providing participants with visibility over their consistency and improvements. Gentle nudges, peer accountability, and gamified feedback supported consistency without pressure, while community sessions and group check-ins created space for shared learning and support.

‍

Motivation and follow-through were reinforced through layered support. Participants received bi-weekly 1:1 consultations with a resident lifestyle medicine doctor, helping them interpret health data and adjust habits realistically. This was complemented by group mentoring sessions led by Coach Nana, which focused on mindset, consistency, and navigating common challenges. An accountability buddy system encouraged regular check-ins and peer support between sessions.

‍

Together, these elements combined medical insight, coaching, behavioural design, and social connection to support sustained engagement and real-world behaviour change throughout the programme.

‍

‍

THE RADAr FRAMEWORK IN ACTION

The RADAr Framework — Reflect, Anticipate, Diversify, Adapt, and Respond — guided how BJC approached every stage of the Glow Up with 42 programme. Here is how each dimension showed up in practice.

‍

REFLECT

BJC began by stepping back to examine what was already known — and what was being overlooked — about youth wellbeing in Malaysia. Rather than defaulting to conventional wellness formats, the team reflected on the real gap between awareness and sustained behaviour change.

▸  Reflected on the limits of typical wellness programmes: most deliver information without supporting habit formation or lifestyle integration.

▸  Acknowledged that Malaysian youth face distinct, intersecting stressors — academic pressure, irregular routines, poor sleep, and early metabolic risks — requiring a holistic response.

▸  Reflected on the role of community and social accountability in sustaining behaviour change, drawing on behavioural science and lifestyle medicine evidence.

▸  Questioned assumptions about what 'healthy living' looks like for young people aged 17–40, recognising diverse life stages, schedules, and motivations.

▸  Used this reflective foundation to establish the six wellbeing pillars that would anchor the programme: sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, relationships, and purpose.

‍

ANTICIPATE

With a clearer picture of the landscape, BJC worked with Detalytics to anticipate the challenges and opportunities ahead — both for participants and for the programme's long-term potential.

▸  Anticipated that without objective health baselines, meaningful change would be impossible to measure — leading to pre- and post-programme blood tests and continuous biometric tracking.

▸  Anticipated the risk of drop-off in a self-directed programme, proactively designing layered accountability: peer buddies, group check-ins, and 1:1 medical consultations.

▸  Anticipated the need for personalisation at scale — building the programme to respond to individual biometric data rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

▸  Anticipated future scalability from the outset: the pilot cohort of 12 was deliberately small to enable depth of learning before expanding to broader audiences.

▸  Conducted surveys, FGDs, and foundational meetups to surface anticipated barriers and validate assumptions before finalising the programme design.

‍

DIVERSIFY

To maximise impact and resilience, BJC deliberately diversified — across methodologies, partner expertise, engagement channels, and forms of accountability — rather than relying on a single approach.

▸  Diversified the programme methodology by combining lifestyle medicine, behavioural design, gamification, coaching, and community-building into a multi-layered intervention.

▸  Diversified the support ecosystem: Detalytics (app infrastructure and biometric tracking), Gametize (gamification), a resident lifestyle medicine doctor, and Coach Nana (group mentoring) each contributed distinct value.

▸  Diversified engagement formats: gamified weekly challenges, bi-weekly 1:1 medical consultations, group mentoring, peer accountability partnerships, and community check-ins.

▸  Diversified measurement approaches — combining objective biometric data with self-reported outcomes on sleep, nutrition, stress, and mood.

▸  Diversified the LEARN-DO-REFLECT structure to accommodate different learning styles and starting points across the cohort.

‍

ADAPT

Throughout delivery, BJC and its partners remained responsive — continuously adapting the programme to participant realities, emerging data, and the lived experience of the cohort.

▸  Adapted challenge design and content based on participant feedback and early engagement data, ensuring weekly activities stayed practical and relevant.

▸  The resident lifestyle medicine doctor adapted health guidance in real time for each participant based on their ongoing biometric data — shifting from generic advice to personalised coaching.

▸  Coach Nana's group mentoring sessions are adapted based on the initial session to address specific mindset challenges, plateaus, and emotional barriers surfaced by the cohort.

▸  The accountability buddy system was adjusted in response to varying engagement levels, with facilitators providing additional support where needed.

‍

RESPOND

At programme close, BJC translated learnings and outcomes into concrete responses — for participants, for the partnership, and for the future of the programme — ensuring the work created lasting value beyond the 8 weeks.

▸  Produced a comprehensive post-programme impact report capturing measurable improvements across physical, behavioural, and psychological outcomes. Documented what worked, what needed refinement, and what the data revealed about the intersection of lifestyle medicine, coaching, and behavioural design in a youth context.

▸  Responded to validated pilot results with a structured scale recommendation — using the evidence base from Glow Up with 42 to make the case for expanding to broader youth audiences across Malaysia.

▸  Shared learnings with all ecosystem partners (Detalytics, Gametize, the lifestyle medicine doctor, Coach Nana) to strengthen future iterations.

‍