Fitness app

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A fitness app is an application that can be downloaded on any mobile device and used anywhere to get fit. Fitness apps are designed to help with exercise, other types of physical training, nutrition and diet, and other ways to get fit.

Contents

As of 2015, the number of health-related apps released on iPhone (iOS) and Android had reached more than 165,000. [1] Apps can perform various functions such as allowing users to set fitness goals, tracking caloric intake, gathering workout ideas, and sharing progress on social media to facilitate healthy behavior change. They can be used as a platform to promote healthy behavior change with personalized workouts, fitness advice and nutrition plans. Fitness apps can work in conjunction with wearable devices to synchronize their health data to third-party devices for easier accessibility. Through using gamification elements and creating competition among friends and family, fitness apps can help incentive users to be more motivated. Running and workout apps allow users to run or work out to music in the form of DJ mixes that can be personalized based on the user's steps per minute, heart rate or ideal cadence thus boosting and enhancing performance during exercise.

Recent advancements have seen fitness apps [2] evolve to utilize artificial intelligence to provide even more personalized fitness guidance. Utilizing symbolic AI, some apps now interpret physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines from organizations like the WHO and ACSM to offer tailored exercise recommendations, enhancing the precision of fitness plans. [3]

Calorie Counter

Calorie counter - summary of calorie and macronutrient intake Calorie counter - Day summary (dark theme - English).png
Calorie counter - summary of calorie and macronutrient intake

A calorie counter is a software application or device that can be used to record and evaluate a person's daily diet in terms of nutritional values such as calories, macronutrients and micronutrients. [4] [5] Body weight and physical activity may also be monitored. [4] Their use is intended to help reduce body weight. [4] [6] [7]

Development

Manual "calorie counting" is based on nutritional calorie tables in book form [8] [9] and on the nutritional information on product packaging. With the advent of smartphones, "calorie counter" apps have simplified the process. The smartphone camera captures the barcode of a product and the nutritional information is provided from a database.

Features

The user records every food eaten, including the quantity, in order to determine their total calories and nutrient intake and compare them with their target. They can enter their current body weight into the app every few days and later draw conclusions about the effectiveness of their diet. To record calorie consumption, the apps can connect to the interfaces of third-party fitness trackers, access the phone's activity sensor or record activity manually. [4]

Privacy

Most calorie counter applications require a user account. Meal and body weight entries are stored on a server of the provider, personalized profiles are created with sensitive data that are at risk of unauthorized access. [10] Applications without registration are more secure in this respect, but have no server-based data backup.

Available evidence

A Cochrane meta-analysis (2024) of 18 studies with a total of 2700 people showed that there was little or no change in participants' weight after two years. Effects on well-being and quality of life are low or non-existent. The apps performed just as well as personal coaching, "no app" or "usual care". However, the evidence is still very weak and a large number of studies have been announced or are ongoing. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients, have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weight loss</span> Reduction of the total body mass

Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat, or lean mass. Weight loss can either occur unintentionally because of malnourishment or an underlying disease, or from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state. "Unexplained" weight loss that is not caused by reduction in calorific intake or increase in exercise is called cachexia and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical fitness</span> State of health and well-being

Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest along with a formal recovery plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedometer</span> Portable device that counts steps a person takes

A pedometer, or step-counter, is a device, usually portable and electronic or electromechanical, that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the person's hands or hips. Because the distance of each person's step varies, an informal calibration, performed by the user, is required if presentation of the distance covered in a unit of length is desired, though there are now pedometers that use electronics and software to determine how a person's step varies automatically. Distance traveled can be measured directly by a GPS receiver.

General fitness training works towards broad goals of overall health and well-being, rather than narrow goals of sport competition, larger muscles or concerns over appearance. A regular moderate workout regimen and healthy diet can improve general appearance markers of good health such as muscle tone, healthy skin, hair and nails, while preventing age or lifestyle-related reductions in health and the series of heart and organ failures that accompany inactivity and poor diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports nutrition</span> Study and practice of nutrition to improve performance

Sports nutrition is the study and practice of nutrition and diet with regards to improving anyone's athletic performance. Nutrition is an important part of many sports training regimens, being popular in strength sports and endurance sports. Sports nutrition focuses its studies on the type, as well as the quantity of fluids and food taken by an athlete. In addition, it deals with the consumption of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic substances that include carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health club</span> Place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise

A health club is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.

Withings is a French consumer electronics company headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. It also has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and Hong Kong, and distributes its products worldwide. Withings is known for design and innovation in connected devices, such as the first Wi-Fi scale on the market, an FDA-cleared blood pressure monitor, a smart sleep system, and a line of automatic activity tracking watches. It also provides B2B services for healthcare providers and researchers.

Workplace health promotion is the combined efforts of employers, employees, and society to improve the mental and physical health and well-being of people at work. The term workplace health promotion denotes a comprehensive analysis and design of human and organizational work levels with the strategic aim of developing and improving health resources in an enterprise. The World Health Organization has prioritized the workplace as a setting for health promotion because of the large potential audience and influence on all spheres of a person's life. The Luxembourg Declaration provides that health and well-being of employees at work can be achieved through a combination of:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nike+ FuelBand</span> Activity tracker

The Nike+ FuelBand was an activity tracker worn on the wrist and compatible with iPhone, iPad, or Android devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MyFitnessPal</span> Smartphone application and website

MyFitnessPal is a health and fitness tracking smartphone app and website. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Activity tracker</span> Device or application for monitoring fitness

An activity tracker is an electronic device or app that measures and collects data about an individual's movements and physical responses, towards the goal of monitoring and improving their health, fitness, or psychological wellness over time.

Azumio is a mobile health company that specializes in biometric mobile technology. Founded in 2011, Azumio develops Apple iOS and Android health apps and services. Azumio has released 24 apps on iOS, 5 apps on Android, and 3 apps on Windows Phone. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Health Score is a scoring system used by several mobile health companies in various ways to track an individual's health via Quantified Self and the help of mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification. According to them when tracked over time, it offers a good directional indicator of how the users health and well-being is evolving over time. The scoring engine varies considerably from one company to another, and in some cases, the scoring engine is trademarked and/or patented, such as in the case of dacadoo. Health is invisible and therefore, all health scores in use have one thing in common: they want to capture and measure health and wellness and make it visible.

HealthifyMe is an Indian digital health and wellness company, which provides an app with services such as calorie tracking and advice on nutrition and fitness. It is available on the Android and iOS platforms, and can be used with wearable technology such as activity trackers.

A System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) is a reliable and valid observation tool for assessing park and recreation areas, including park users’ physical activity levels, gender, age, and ethnicity groupings. It also collects information on park characteristics including accessibility, usability, supervision, and organization. The use of SOPARC in park monitoring would allow for more consistent and comprehensive monitoring of parks. The summary data (e.g. the number of park users, demographics, frequency by activity types) obtained using SOPARC is easily understood by practitioners, policymakers, and the public. SOPARC has been adapted to numerous studies to understand the role of park conditions on park use, compare park data, and inform park system planning and programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Health</span> Health-tracking app

Samsung Health is a free application developed by Samsung Electronics that serves to track various aspects of daily life contributing to well being such as physical activity, diet, and sleep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatsecret</span> Health website

Fatsecret is a mobile application, website and API that helps people achieve their weight loss goals, find accurate nutrition information and power global health apps.

The benefits of physical activity range widely. Most types of physical activity improve health and well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitness (Apple)</span> Mobile application developed by Apple

Fitness, formerly Activity, is an exercise tracking companion app by Apple Inc. available on iPhones running iOS 8.2 or above for users with a connected Apple Watch, later expanding to all iPhones regardless of Watch connectivity with the release of iOS 16. The application displays a summary view of user's recorded workouts from the Apple Watch or supported third-party apps and exercise equipment, as well as acting as the home for all Apple Fitness+ content.

References

  1. ↑ "More than 165,000 mobile health apps now available". iMedicalApps. September 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  2. ↑ "10 Best Fitness Apps Of 2024". Forbes Health. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  3. ↑ Allocca, Carlo; Jilali, Samia; Ail, Rohit; Lee, Jaehun; Kim, Byungho; Antonini, Alessio; Motta, Enrico; Schellong, Julia; Stieler, Lisa; Haleem, Muhammad Salman; Georga, Eleni; Pecchia, Leandro; Gaeta, Eugenio; Fico, Giuseppe (January 2022). "Toward a Symbolic AI Approach to the WHO/ACSM Physical Activity & Sedentary Behavior Guidelines". Applied Sciences. 12 (4): 1776. doi: 10.3390/app12041776 . ISSN   2076-3417.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Milliard, Sharlin (2019). "Designing Calorie Counter Smartphone Applications for Effective Weight Loss" (PDF). University of Central Florida. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  5. ↑ Eikey, Elizabeth V.; Booth, Kayla M.; Chen, Yunan; Zheng, Kai (2018-12-05). "The Use of General Health Apps Among Users with Specific Conditions: Why College Women with Disordered Eating Adopt Food Diary Apps". Amia ... Annual Symposium Proceedings. Amia Symposium: 1243–52. PMC   6371267 . PMID   30815166.
  6. ↑ Harvey, Jean; Krukowski, Rebecca; Priest, Jeff; West, Delia (March 2019). "Log Often, Lose More: Electronic Dietary Self-Monitoring for Weight Loss". Obesity. 27 (3): 380–4. doi:10.1002/oby.22382. PMC   6647027 . PMID   30801989.
  7. ↑ Hahn, Samantha L.; Kaciroti, Niko; Eisenberg, Daniel; Weeks, Heidi M.; Bauer, Katherine W.; Sonneville, Kendrin R. (December 2021). "Introducing Dietary Self-Monitoring to Undergraduate Women via a Calorie Counting App Has No Effect on Mental Health or Health Behaviors: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial". Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 121 (12): 2377–88. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2021.06.311. PMC   9109125 . PMID   34427188.
  8. ↑ Beilenson, Suzanne. The Pocket Calorie Counter. Peter Pauper Press. ISBN   978-1-4413-0519-0.
  9. ↑ Heslin, Jo-Ann; Nolan, Karen J. (2009-12-29). The Calorie Counter (5th ed.). Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-4165-6667-0.
  10. ↑ "Hackers steal data of 150 million MyFitnessPal app users". The Guardian. 2018-03-30. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  11. ↑ Metzendorf, M.I.; Wieland, L.S.; Richter, B. (2024). "Smartphone apps for people with overweight or obesity". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2024 (2): CD013591. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013591.pub2. PMC  10877670. PMID   38375882 . Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  12. ↑ Herrmann LK, Kim J (2017). "The fitness of apps: a theory-based examination of mobile fitness app usage over 5 months". mHealth. 3: 2. doi: 10.21037/mhealth.2017.01.03 . PMC   5344171 . PMID   28293619.
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