The news: Google is adding a new set of health features to its wearables, including insulin resistance trends that use AI to analyze accelerometer, barometer, heart rate, and skin temperature data. The tool doesn’t directly measure blood sugar, but can flag shifts in a user’s insulin resistance over time. Users can also separately connect an existing continuous glucose monitor (CGM) through Google’s Health Connect to incorporate glucose data.

Why it matters: Tools with passive metabolic tracking can be instrumental in raising awareness of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes—especially by flagging insulin resistance, which can be an early warning sign. More than 115 million Americans have prediabetes, but 8 in 10 aren’t aware of it, per the CDC. And Google said in its announcement that around 40% of adults are unaware of changes in their insulin resistance.

Other wearable makers are also interested in metabolic tracking. Whoop is working on an optical blood sugar sensor for its device, smart ring maker Oura received a $75 million investment from Dexcom, and Apple has tested a blood sugar app for people with prediabetes, per Bloomberg.

Implications for health wearable and tech companies: Metabolic tracking is emerging as the next frontier in consumer wellness, following a path similar to heart rate, sleep, and blood pressure from clinical settings to everyday wearables.

Metabolic tracking and CGM use are also growing among those who don’t have diabetes, including fitness and wellness enthusiasts and GLP-1 users. More than 4 in 10 US consumers now use condition-specific health monitoring devices (not including smartwatches) such as for blood sugar or sleep apnea tracking, per EMARKETER’s January 2026 US Digital Health survey.

For wearable and tech companies, that raises the bar for passive health tracking. Google’s addition of insulin resistance to Health Guardian shows how multimodal sensors and AI are expanding what wearables can track. Yet even as these capabilities expand, consumer wearables remain distinct from regulated medical devices. They can serve as a complement, offering always-on context that can flag potential risks and prompt users to seek medical care.

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