Health and wellness apps such as fitness trackers and nutrition guides enable users to meet their health goals, monitor physical and mental wellbeing and live healthier lives. Conceived for mobile platforms, these applications range from fitness apps that provide tracking solutions and personal or group exercise classes to nutritional management platforms and behavioral engagement tools.
The FDA defines health apps as mobile software that enhances or tracks health-related information, from calorie counters and fitness trackers to workout aids and workout assistants. No matter their functionality, user’s medical and fitness information must always remain protected under strict data security policies; only authorized personnel should be granted access.
Wellness and health apps can be divided into four broad categories, as follows: general wellness apps that promote healthier lifestyles; health and medical apps which offer support in managing specific diseases or conditions; telehealth/telemedicine apps which connect directly with physicians or care providers; and finally digital therapeutics which have FDA-approval to treat certain medical conditions.
Although most wellness and health apps are designed for consumer use, some can also be utilized by employees as part of an employee wellness program at work. Woliba, for instance, allows organizations to manage employee engagement and recognition programs efficiently on one platform and offers features such as activity challenges, health and nutrition content recipes/content recipes quizzes/challenges as well as behavioral challenges.
Many reputable, trustworthy health and wellness apps are now available for consumers to download, with some more complex than others, while many provide the convenience of having all your health data consolidated in one convenient place – especially useful for those living with chronic health conditions who need access to their records at any time.
Some of the most popular wellness and health apps include calorie trackers and diet and fitness guides, like MyPlate Calorie Counter and Livestrong Fitness, offering meal planning, recipe resources, nutrient databases, customized workout plans tailored specifically towards specific goals, personalized recommendations based on 44 biomarkers as well as meal planning resources.
Conversely, Nike Training Club app provides over 185 workouts created by master trainers as well as articles about fitness and wellness. If that wasn’t enough, this app connects with external wearable devices for additional metrics such as heart rate and pace measurements.
Calm app can assist those aiming to manage their mental health and reduce stress levels with mindfulness and wellbeing in mind. Through activities like guided meditations, bedtime stories and soothing music it provides relaxation therapy that promotes calmness. Furthermore it aims to promote good sleep quality as well as enhanced focus and self-care among its users.
