By: Amanda Benson, RD
When health apps were introduced into the market several years ago, they typically measured only one thing well, such as steps or heart rate. Now, health apps are more capable of measuring a variety of health statistics and can interpret those measurements to give you a better picture of your overall health.
Many of these apps are free, providing everyone with vital, personal health information to guide lifestyle choices. There is no barrier to entry and these multi-faceted apps can help provide important information. Of course, there are always additional features, that cost money, that can enhance the experience if you want to take advantage of them.
Withings Health Mate
is one example of an app that records multiple pieces of data from a variety of sources. The free app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, records weight, activity, sleep and heart rate. To make the most of Health Mate, Withings recommends you pair it with their activity tracker, Pulse o2 Withings ($119.95). However, if you choose to use the app without the activity tracker, you can pair it up with RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal. For those of you that have an iPhone with the latest operating system, you can seamlessly sync Health Mate’s information with HealthKit, a pre-loaded iPhone app.
After entering information in Health Mate about yourself, such as height and weight, you’ll be taken to your timeline, which shows a personal newsfeed of your weight, activity, sleep and heart rate as updates are made or changes occur. To take a deeper dive into this data and see trends, gains or losses over a period of time, you’ll access your dashboard instead.
Weight
The weight portion of Health Mate is very straightforward, providing a place to record weight gains and losses whenever you deem necessary. It will use your weight and height to compute your BMI. If you have a specific weight goal that you want to achieve, you may set that up in the app and it will tell you what you need to gain or lose each week to keep you on track. For the most accurate look at your weight, you may pair the Withings Smart Body Analyzer ($149.95) with Health Mate. The body analyzer is a Wi-Fi scale that sends information about your weight, body fat percentage, heart rate and air-quality to your phone.
Activity
The easiest and most accurate way of recording activity with Health Mate is through the o2 Pulse activity tracker, but again, you do not need the device. As a standalone, Health Mate is capable of measuring your steps throughout the day. If you set a goal for 10,000 steps or more, you can go to your newsfeed to see how much progress you’ve made throughout the day. Since the app can only measure steps when the phone is physically on you, you’ll need to remember to carry your phone everywhere with you.
If you want to record more than just steps including both your calorie intake and burn, you can pair a variety of free apps with your Health Mate app.
Calorie burn
To record your calorie burn, a popular app to use is RunKeeper, which records runs and other fitness activities. When the two apps are paired together, Runkeeper will import your mileage, minutes of activity and calories burned right into Health Mate.
Calorie intake
To record your calorie intake, you’ll want to connect to MyFitnessPal, a calorie counter, and log your food diary there.
Together, RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal data will feed into your Health Mate app and provide a much more robust look at your health.
Sleep
Sleep is the only area of Health Mate that falls flat if you’re trying to use the app as a standalone. To track any sleep metrics, you are required to purchase the Pulse o2 Withings ($119.95), Withings Aura ($299.95) , or a Jawbone UP Fitness Tracker ($79.99 – $179.99).
When you pair one of the devices above with Health Mate, you can keep track of a variety of key sleep quality indicators. After wearing the Pulse, Aura, or Jawbone, you’ll know exactly how long you were in bed, how much time you actually slept in a light or deep sleep, and see any sleep interruptions.
Heartrate
One of the most unique things about Health Mate is you can take your heart rate instantly; no extra device required. Just click the blue “+” sign on your timeline, choose heart rate and then place your pointer finger over your phone’s camera. After holding still for a couple seconds, the app tells you what your beats per minute is and what a healthy heart rate is for you depending on activity level at the time. The average resting heart rate for children 10 years and older, and adults (including seniors) is 60 – 100 beats per minute (bpm). For well-trained athletes resting heart rate is between 40-60 bpm.
While purchasing additional equipment and devices for Health Mate will allow for optimal performance of the app, it still functions well as a standalone program that’s sure to paint a clear picture of your overall health. This app is a great option if a high-priced fitness tracker is not in your budget but you need a little everyday, technological health tracking assistance to reach your health goals.
Get tracking!
About the Author: Amanda Benson, RD is a Registered Dietitian and Wellness Consultant at Priority Health. She graduated from Michigan State University and has experience in many realms of nutrition and health including clinical, community, corporate wellness and health promotion.
