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By Karen J. Bannan
MY HUSBAND’S EMPLOYER recently
handed him a pedometer that’s tied to an
application (app). If he wears it every day, his
company said, he can reduce our health insurance
rates. (If he walks enough, that is.) It looks like our
family—and possibly quite a few of those reading this
article—are part of a sweeping push into an area
where health and fitness apps proliferate.
There are plenty of apps to choose from today.
In fact, as of October 2013 there were more than
40,000 health and fitness apps on the Apple i Tunes
market alone. From figuring out how much sleep
you’re getting to seeing how many steps you take
during the day to finding the closest heart catheterization lab location, there truly is an app for anything health-related.
There’s a reason health-related apps are so popular,
says David Katz, the director
of the Yale-Griffin Prevention
Research Center, a center
funded by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and designed to;develop innovative approaches
to health promotion and disease prevention:
Developed and used correctly, they can help you
improve your health and stick to a treatment plan.
“When we look at the science of behavior modification, social contracting—having someone looking over your shoulder to give you a pat on the back
or a kick in the pants—works, and technology can
fulfill that role,” he says. “It’s also really good for self-monitoring so you can keep track of what you’re
doing on a daily basis.”
App-solute safety
With so many apps on the market, it can be difficult to choose the right one. When downloading
apps, credibility is key, says Thomas W. Miller, a
professor emeritus and senior research scientist at
the University of Connecticut’s Center for Health,
Intervention, and Prevention.
From a content standpoint, the best apps may
come from large health-care providers and universities such as the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and
Johns Hopkins University, says Miller. “There are
nonprofessionals who create markets of opportunity
with useless and sometimes harmful information that
can border on fraud and patient abuse,” he explains.
You should also make sure that whatever app
you choose, you share that information, and how
you’re using it, with your doctor, says Katz. “When
you let your health-care pro-
fessional know what you’re
using, it can become a tool
for your health care.”
This is especially impor-
tant because many apps are
designed with a 150-pound
male in mind, says Yasmin
Mossavar-Rahmani, associate professor of clinical
epidemiology and population health at Albert
Einstein College of Medicine. “A food tracker that’s
THESE SPECIFIC APPS (some are
free, some are not) suggested by
experts may appeal to you.
Download them with one caveat,
though: “Carefully consider the
medical evidence behind any
medical intervention you take—
including using an app—and
always consult a physician before
changing your lifestyle,” says
Adam C. Powell, president of the
Boston-based health-care consulting firm Payer + Provider
Syndicate. “In the past, you would
never consider making drastic
changes without talking to a
doctor, and that’s no different
now just because you’ve got an
app for something.”
Arthritis. Track + React, designed by the Arthritis Foundation,
gives sufferers a way to track diet,
physical activity, quality of life,
sleep, stress levels, social interactions and whether they took their
medication. A bar graph and
reports can be shared with doctors
to help with pain management and
treatment options.
Diabetes. Glooko Logbook takes
glucose readings from supported
meters and combines it with self-reported data about carbohydrate
and food intake and activity levels.
You can email or fax up to two
weeks of data to your doctor right
from your phone.
Exercise. Argus monitors every
step, stride, pedal, bite, sip, pound
and snore and produces detailed
charts to make sense of biodata.
Cody offers an inside connection
to a fitness community where you
can share and discover workouts
with video, etc., and connect with
others for motivation. Endomondo
focuses on the community aspects
of staying motivated to reach fitness activity goals and tracks running, cycling, jogging, skating,
even dancing. Power20 is a
20-minute full-body interval training app that customizes your routine based on your fitness abilities.
App-ly
yourself
The Costco Connection
Costco members will find exercise
equipment and items to aid their
specific health-management needs
and fitness and dietary goals at Costco
and on Costco.com.
for your
health
From figuring out how
much sleep you’re getting
to seeing how many steps
you take during the day to
finding the closest heart
catheterization lab location,
there truly is an app for
anything health-related.
Anapp
a day
Health-related apps
grow in popularity
MEDI ABAKERY
