Top tech tracks charity challenge

With Christmas fast approaching, a team from concrete roof tile manufacturer, Russell Roof Tiles, has pledged to transform old habits into healthy new ones by taking on a 50-day fitness challenge while raising money for local charities.

Over the course of the programme, 14 staff from its Burton site, will use state-of-the-art body-scanning technology to measure who has improved the most across a range of metrics. The team has enlisted the help of Nottingham-based tech company boditrax, which makes medical-grade equipment that scans, records and tracks body composition, such as muscle, fat and fluids and analyses a person’s metabolic age, cellular integrity, physique score and more.

The UK-designed and manufactured scanners are used by 12 million people worldwide, including organisations such as the NHS, universities and elite sports teams in Formula One and premier league football, hotels, spas and health clubs.

Russell Roof Tiles is using the latest version of the software, boditrax 2.0, which is trusted by companies including Rolls Royce, Airbus, Bentley, Kellogg’s, Cadbury’s and BRITA to help their team track their wellness and identify areas of improvement.

Following the initial assessments, some of the team were shocked to read that their metabolic age exceeded their actual age, and have since set their own goals for the 50-day challenge.

Nick Stillman, Managing Director at Boditrax, commented: “We’re delighted to be working with Russell Roof Tiles. Our boditrax health application has been built around our medical-grade body composition scanner, which gives everyone taking part the opportunity to measure everything from their muscle and fat mass to their cellular integrity. We are looking forward to seeing the improvements the team make. You only get one body, so it does rather pay to look after it.”

With the average number of days needed to form a new habit as low as 21, the team at Russell Roof Tiles are hoping that by taking care of their bodies, whether that be through exercise, diet, or lifestyle changes, they will be able to make permanent improvements to living a happier and healthier life.

As a charity fundraiser, helping to motivate the team involved in the challenge, participants are paying a £50 fee to enter, which will be doubled by the company and donated to their Give4Good initiative that supports 10 charities and good causes close to its sites.

Andrew Hayward, Managing Director at Russell Roof Tiles, said: “The 50-day fitness challenge is not only about each person's well-being but also a collective effort to support our Give4Good charities. Together, with boditrax, we’re implementing a whole-body approach to well-being, helping us step up for a healthier community and a stronger spirit of giving.”

The 50-day fitness challenge will end on 12 December when the total raised for charity will be announced as well as the team’s achievements.

Russell Roof Tiles originally set up its Give4Good neighbourhood and community initiative in January 2022 and the team of 150 has taken part in nearly 20 company-led events, spending more than 500 hours volunteering and fundraising. In 2023, Russell Roof Tiles has so far raised £42,000 surpassing its initial £40,000 target set at the beginning of the year.