Skip to main content

New research shows those who use health and fitness apps spend more time exercising

Track your progress, get motivated, and get moving with health and fitness apps

By Steph Green Sep 23, 2024 7:19 AM

exercise running workout phone app watch headphones — Filadendron / Getty Images

There are plenty of health and fitness apps to choose from today to track your calories, steps, workouts, what you’re eating, and more. Researchers from the University of South Australia have found that using these health apps really does have benefits. Logging into these apps is somewhat like having an accountability partner that motivates you and helps you keep track of your progress all in one convenient digital place on your phone, tablet, or Apple watch.

The rising popularity of health and fitness apps

workout apps home fitness weights phone — Halfpoint Images / Getty Images

Health and fitness apps are skyrocketing in popularity as the burden of chronic disease increases, and people become more health conscious. According to the World Health Organization, one in eight people are now living with obesity, and 422 million people have diabetes. Digital apps are a handy way to boost your overall health and wellness and encourage you to get your body moving. You don’t have to travel to the gym, and many apps include virtual fitness coaches, AI personalization, and a variety of useful in-app features.

Recommended Videos

So, why are people choosing to use health and fitness apps? Here’s an example: you might decide to try Pilates or calisthenics to develop your fitness and help with lower back pain, but you’re unsure about which movements, and you’re finding it difficult to remember to make time in your busy schedule. You could use a Pilates or calisthenics app to guide you through the right exercises and set reminders.

If you’re switching up your diet and trying to lose weight, you could use an app to track your calories and what you’re eating, so you can stay on top of your progress.

The study results

close up man wearing apple watch on arm health and fitness app — Tim Foster / Unsplash

Researchers evaluated data from 206,873 people across 47 studies.

The results revealed that people who use electronic and mobile health interventions like digital apps:

Walked 1329 more steps each day
Performed 55 minutes more of moderate-to-vigorous exercise every week
Engaged in 45 minutes more overall physical activity every week
Consumed 103 fewer calories per day
Consumed 20% more fruits and vegetables per day
Consumed 5 grams less saturated fat per day
Had 9 kilograms of weight loss over 12 weeks
Had better sleep quality and less severe insomnia

Whether you want to improve your sleep, lose weight, or become more physically active, a mobile app is a handy modern tool to have. It turns out that regularly using health and fitness apps might just encourage healthier habits, and it only takes seconds to download.

Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and… Read Full Bio

Topics

Workouts

Health & Fitness

The Manual’s Health & Wellness Awards Are Open for Submissions

Clothing, Footwear, Shoe

For years, The Manual has told readers which products actually work. Not which ones arrived in the nicest box, and not which brand bought the most media. Which ones held up after weeks of real use, and were still worth reaching for at the end.

Now we’re bringing that same approach to health. Introducing The Manual Health & Wellness Awards 2026, our first awards program dedicated to the products that help men sleep, train, recover, and feel better. And it’s open to submissions.

Health & Fitness

Ditching the boring golf gear: Travis Mathew and Liberty London collaborate to bring personality to the course

Chair, Furniture, Person

I remember watching golf when I was a kid; everyone, and I mean everyone, looked the same. There are rules on a golf course. A collared shirt, no denim, a very specific look is what they go for. It is tradition, and tradition is hard to argue with. Then came Tiger Woods and John Daly. Tiger found a way to make this boring tradition a uniform. You could see the red Nike polo and black pants and knew exactly who it was. Daly? Well, he went the other way and patterns became a wild calling card. Travis Mathew and Liberty London found a way to mix both of these concepts to bring a bold new look to the game of golf.

What makes this collaboration particularly exciting is seeing Liberty’s heritage designs and colour language brought into the world of golf in such a fresh way. The striking print combinations, considered handfeel, and balance of high-performance golfwear with relaxed lifestyle pieces create a collaboration that feels both unexpected and distinctly Liberty. – Pere Bruach, Design Manager at Liberty London

Health & Fitness

After 19 Years Away From Basketball, Armando Rodriguez Found His Way Back With Grit, AI, and a Passion That Never Left

Armando Rodriguez basketball player

For basketball enthusiasts, there’s something uniquely inviting and invigorating about the sport. The squeaks as the players move around the shiny court, the whoosh of the spinning ball through the air, and the rush of victory when the basketball glides smoothly through the hoop or bounces off the backboard before the descent. The fast thinking, maneuvers, strategy, and thrill of the game draw people who play for decades.

Sometimes, people are suddenly facing life-changing circumstances that cause them to turn away from the game they love. For skilled basketball player Armando Rodriguez, he stopped playing after a complete T9 spinal cord injury at the young age of 25.