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Is technology helping to make us healthier — or just the opposite?Looking around, you’d probably guess the latter. Worldwide, obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980, with almost 2 billions adults classified as overweight in 2014. As technology develops and automates more and more tasks, people are living increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Not getting enough exercise increases your risk of health problems including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, anxiety and depression, and even certain types of cancers.With that in mind, the steady march of technological progress seems like it might do more harm than good. Why go outside and exercise when you’re surrounded by entertainment at home? The United States now boasts an average of 5.7 Internet-connected devices per household.We’re constantly surrounded by screens, and not just at home. Around the world, mobile devices outnumber people. Could the ubiquity of smartphones be a contributing factor in our worsening health?Smartphones almost certainly impact our social health as people prefer to stare at their screens instead of making conversation or even eye contact. But has our addiction to playing Angry Birds, instead of going outside and seeing real ones, contributed to a decline in our physical health as well?In fact, the opposite may be true. The increasing ubiquity of smartphones has also given rise to a booming smartphone healthcare industry.Thanks to new smartphone apps and other developing new technology, anyone can now monitor their heart rate, track diet and exercise routine, and keep an eye on their blood sugar levels without complicated or expensive equipment. Going forward, experts predict that smartphone health apps will “reduce our use of doctors, cut costs, speed up the pace of care and give more power to patients.”How Your Smartphone Can Make You HealthierThere’s no question that cellphones are essentially ubiquitous — 90% of US adults have one. But it’s Internet-connected smartphones that are of most interest to researchers and developers in health care. We use our smartphones for practically everything else, why not use them to make ourselves healthier, too?Who Tracks Their Health (and How Do They Do It)?58% of American adults own a smartphone52% of those with smartphones have used them to look up health or medical information19% of smartphone owners have downloaded at least one health tracking/managing app60% of American adults track their:Weight Diet Exercise routine33% track health indicators like:Headaches Blood pressure Blood sugar Sleep patterns70% of US adults track at least one health indicator (for themselves or another person)7 million Americans used diet and fitness apps in 2013Up from 43.9 million in 201220% of consumers surveyed by Rock Health said they would like to use mobile healthcare tech to monitor their health and fitness88% of physicians surveyed said they would like their patients to be able to monitor/track their health at home55% of those who use mobile health tracking apps plan to integrate the following into their health routine:Pedometers Wristbands SmartwatchesVenture capital funding for digital health grew from $968 million in 2012 to $1.4 billion in 2013The AppsHealth tracking apps allow users to track and monitor their health from their smartphone.Apple HealthCost: Free (comes automatically installed with iOS 8)More of a meta-app than a health tracker itselfOrganizes information from other health tracking apps installed on a user’s device in one placeAllows users to create a customizable “medical ID” accessible from the emergency call screenEven locked phones will be able to display any of the following:Name Known allergies Emergency contact information Blood type Organ donor statusFitbitCost: FreeAutomatically tracks daily steps and distance traveledUsers can log food calories by selecting them from a databaseUsers can also scan barcodes for items not already includedUsers can create weight loss goalsThen they enter their weight, food plan, and record their sleep The app uses graphs and charts to show progress towards users’ goalsSocial features allow users to:Share stats Challenge each other Send direct messages Compete on leaderboardsUsers can record workout lengths and see them on a monthly exercise calendarWirelessly connects with the Fitbit wristband and Aria Wi-Fi Smart ScaleWithings Health MateCost: FreeAutomatically tracks daily steps takenManually measures heart rate using iPhone cameraUsers can upload:Weight Weight loss goals Time sleptPedometer will show:Calories burned Progress towards a daily goal of 10,000 stepsUsers can compete against friends in a weekly step challengeMyFitnessPalCost: FreeCalorie counter and exercise trackerUsers with an iPhone 5 or above will see their caloric allowance increase as they take more stepsUsers enter what they eat, including quantity and portion sizeA large database of different foods is available with a useful search feature Includes recipes users have uploaded, brand-name foods, and restaurant dishes Users can also manually enter caloric amounts for homemade recipesBreaks down daily caloric intake into:Carbs Fat ProteinCan send push notifications to the phone for remindersDaily summary shows:Calories consumed so far today Calories burned so far today How today stacks up against user-created goalsArgusCost: FreeSleep:Wakes users up within a 30-minute window of their lightest sleep period This ensures that they wake up at their most refreshed, increasing the quality of their sleep Monitors sleep quality and durationFood:Create a food diary by snapping pictures of meals Calorie counter tracks: Calories consumed Calories burnedHydration:See hydration levels by entering amount of water, tea, and coffee consumed per dayExercise:Pedometer tracks steps Can set goals for walking/running/biking Social aspect lets users share goals reached with friends Heart monitor allows users to manually track heart rateMovesCost: FreePedometer that tracks:Walking Running Cycling Time spent on public transitUses GPS to map daily routesStoryline shows time spent moving vs stationaryEstimates (but doesn’t calculate) calories burnedThe DevicesThere are a number of different devices that can connect to smartphones and apps, giving users an even clearer picture of their health and fitness.Heart Rate MonitorsMIO LinkCost: $99Doesn’t require a chest strapHeart rates are EKG accurateConnects with ANT+ and Bluetooth SmartWater resistant up to 30mColored lights show heart rate zone alertsThe five zones are: Blue: Very Light (50-60% max heart rate) Green: Light (60-70%) Yellow: Moderate (70-80%) Violet: Hard (80-90%) Red: Maximum (90-100%)Zephyr HxM BTCost: $55.45Uses Bluetooth to connect to a number of different apps, including:Endomondo Strava SportsTracker RuntasticWater resistant up to 1mMeasures:Heart rate R-R Interval Speed DistanceWristbandsFitBit FlexCost: $99.95Uses a built-in accelerometer to track:Steps taken Calories burned Hours sleptUsers can create goals for these categoriesLEDs will light up to show progress made toward these goalsCan wake user with a silent, vibrating alarmWirelessly connects to smartphones and computersKeeps seven days of minute-to-minute dataKeeps 30 days of daily calories, steps, and distanceUp to five days of battery life when fully chargedJawbone UPCost: $79Tracks:Steps Distance Calories Active time Idle TimeConnects wirelessly with Bluetooth Smart to a number of different apps, including:Runkeeper MyFitnessPal Nest Wello SleepioUp to 10 days of battery life when fully chargedWater resistant (but do not submerge)Can create Idle Alerts, which vibrate after a set amount of time to inspire activityUP will wake users at the lightest part of their sleep cycle in a 10, 20, or 30 minute window of their alarmScalesAria Wi-Fi Smart ScaleCost: $129.95Tracks:Weight Body fat % BMI trendsUploads data over Wi-FiCan automatically identify up to 8 usersPrimarily intended for the FitBit app, but can connect with up to 13 different apps, including:Lose It Endomondo TargetWeightSmart Body AnalyzerCost: $149.95Measures:Body fat Weight BMI Heart rate Air quality (looks at temperature and CO2 levels)Able to recognize up to 8 usersCan connect to up to 100+ apps, including:RunKeeper MyFitnessPal LoseIt!Users can download their data as a CSV (comma-separated values) document at any timeUploads data over Bluetooth and Wi-FiGoogle’s Project AraA modular smartphone, has a prototype module that works as a pulse oximeterThis device measures a person’s blood oxygen levelsThe FutureApple’s Apple Watch will integrate with a number of different health and fitness apps, and automatically keep track of several things, including:Calories burnedTime spent movingTime spent idleSteps takenHeart rateHome is an Apple/Android app that monitors a user’s habits and acts as an early warning system caregivers whose patients suffer diminished mental capacity (such as those with dementia or Alzheimer’s)The app measures:Movement (distance and to where) Calls placed (duration and to whom) Text messaging patternsWhen users deviate significantly from the norm, care providers are alertedSano Intelligence is developing a non-invasive transdermal patch that can analyze blood chemistry without needles and transmit it to nearly any deviceThe prototype can already measure:Glucose levels Potassium levelsThe goal is for the device to measure everything in a metabolic panel:Glucose Kidney function Electrolyte balance“There’s nothing more important than our good health – that’s our principal capital asset.” — Arlen Specter