The app also allows you to enter information about height, body fat percentage, body mass index, lean body mass and waist circumference. Weight isn't the only metric Health can track for you.

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If you want to lose weight, the Health app can help keep you on track. Many people track their food and nutrition as a means to meet weight-loss goals. Within the nutrition tile, you'll get a breakdown of your macronutrients and micronutrients for the day, month and year, if you use an app that integrates with Health or if you input all of your data manually. These third-party apps have massive food databases that already include the nutrient breakdown of most meals and snacks you enter. Third-party apps make keeping a close eye easier because the info you enter in, say, MyFitnessPal or Lifesum, will sync with Health. You can use the nutrition tile in Health to track your food intake, but that method requires you to input everything - even down to the milligram for nutrients like sodium - manually. Food and nutritionĮven though it's useful, keeping tabs on everything we eat isn't exactly fun, and it's even more time-consuming when you want to track singular nutrients, such as calcium or iron. The Nike+ suite of activity apps ( Run Club, Training Club) export workout data to Health, as do Strava, Pocket Yoga, MyFitnessPal, Gymaholic and others. If you don't have an activity tracker or smartwatch at all, the key to a detailed activity section is third-party apps. If you don't have an Apple Watch, you can import data like your VO2 max from other activity trackers, such as Fitbit and Garmin. You can also view more specific metrics, like running distance, cycling distance, swimming distance and downhill snow sports distance with the Workout app for Apple Watch. Your yearly data is rounded up below the daily details and includes exercise minutes, resting energy, active energy and standing hours. If you wear an Apple Watch ( $479 at Best Buy), you'll see more detailed metrics here too, including how often you stand, calories burned, exercise and more. That is, you don't need to wear a tracker to get step or distance data. The Health app uses your iPhone's accelerometer to measure steps and distance traveled, so long as you keep your iPhone with you to get accurate figures. Once Health is set up the right way, setting and meeting health goals is easier than ever.ĭon't have a fitness tracker? The Health app uses your iPhone's accelerometer to count your steps. Not only can you beef up your data in those four departments, but you can do so much more with the right apps. Health functions in four main categories: activity, mindfulness, sleep and nutrition. We've rounded up some of the best health accessories that sync with the Apple Health app.

The iOS app acts as one centralized hub for all your health data from various third-party apps and devices, such as run or step trackers, sleep trackers, food diaries, mental health apps, reproductive health trackers and more. The concept behind Health is a gift for people who like to keep their data organized. When the Health app for iPhone debuted in 2014, it was by far the easiest and most comprehensive way for smartphone users to view and manage their health data from different sources.Ī lot has changed since then, and the app now offers more insight into your health than ever before - not to mention more ease of use too.

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