WHOOP and the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi agreed to a 24-month research program Oct. 21 to test whether wearable data and coaching can support heart and metabolic health, giving the company a clinical setting to evaluate its preventive-care approach.
The first planned study will follow adults with obesity and high blood pressure for six months. Researchers plan to track changes in weight, waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and sleep. Physicians in Abu Dhabi will support the study’s design and oversight, according to the partners. They did not specify a start date, enrollment target or control group, and no findings have been reported.
WHOOP founder and CEO Will Ahmed told The National that continuous monitoring can detect changes people may not notice themselves. He said those insights could help people lower their weight and blood pressure, a proposition the research is intended to examine. Department of Health – Abu Dhabi Chairman Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori said, “Our bodies can signal changes long before we feel unwell.”
Later studies under the agreement will examine whether WHOOP can support behavior changes that address heart and metabolic disease risk factors alongside treatment. Any resulting reduction in disease risk remains unverified.
The collaboration follows broader WHOOP activity in the region. WHOOP announced a $575 million Series G round on March 31 at a $10.1 billion valuation. Mubadala Investment Company disclosed May 7 that its $75 million investment was part of that financing. Mubadala said the wider partnership aims to build health research capacity and attract expertise to Abu Dhabi. WHOOP also committed to a UAE office, an expanded Advanced Labs offering and a separate research initiative with UAE institutions.
WHOOP said Oct. 13 that it had launched an Arabic-language app and that membership across the Gulf Cooperation Council was up more than 75% year over year. The company also plans to open a performance research facility in Qatar later in 2026. The first Abu Dhabi study’s findings are the next relevant indicator from the program, but the partners have not set a reporting date.
