How to Use the Health App on Your iPhone to Track Your Fitness
March 19, 2020

How to Use the Health App on Your iPhone to Track Your Fitness

You might be surprised that 95% of the global population suffers from at least one health issue. To make matters worse, many of these people don't have access to proper healthcare.

Taking your health into your own hands is a common trend occurring as mobile apps put your wellness in the palm of your hand.

Continue reading to see how the Apple Health app is one of the most useful tools for a holistic wellness program.

How to Set up Apple Health App

Before you start enjoying its features, you must first know how to use Health app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you haven't already, manage your Apple ID by signing into your device or creating a new account. The Health app is preinstalled, so you don't have to download anything.

When you open the app, you will be prompted to create a profile. All of the fields are optional, but the more you fill in the more accurate your assessment will be. This includes your first and last name, birthday, weight, gender, and height.

Select done to complete the basic set-up process.

Adding Medical Details

In the profile section, the iOS Health app asks for more detailed information about your health like your blood type.

It also has a section for you to include a medical ID. This information about medical conditions, prescriptions, and allergic reactions is helpful to first responders or hospitals.

Sign up to be an organ donor through Donate Life. You will need to provide your personal information like the last 4 digits of your social security number, address, and email.

Another great iPhone Health app feature is that you can connect to your healthcare provider's patient portal to access your medical records. Get notified when data is added to stay up-to-date on your health.

Apple will ask if you want to share your data with them for scientific studies, and you can participate in specific research analyses. You will remain anonymous if you choose to share medical records.

Connecting Other Apps to Apple Health

The iPhone Health tracker syncs with your other fitness and health apps to gather data in one place.

In your profile under privacy settings, click on apps to view a list of compatible apps. If it isn't listed here then the app doesn't work with the Health app. You can enter this data manually as you will see a bit later.

You can find useful and compatible apps for each tracking subcategory. Exit your profile to go back to the home screen. Click on "browse" on the bottom menu. Choose a category then a subcategory.

Scroll down to view a list of the apps and click on it to download from the App Store.

Allow the new app to connect with the Health app by going back to your privacy settings. Click on the app then enable connect to Health app. There is also an option to turn on notifications found within the app.

if you don't see the option to connect with health app under privacy settings>apps then you will need to go into the app itself. In the app's settings find an option to turn App Health on. This will activate the options in the Health app.

Connecting With Other Apple Devices

Since your profile is saved via iCloud, all devices signed in to the same Apple account will automatically sync to your Health app.

You can view all your devices under the privacy settings>devices. Click on each device to see which data originated from which device. This includes the distances walked or ran, stairs climbed, and steps taken.

It also tracks the use of headphones to determine the audio levels you've experienced. Hearing health is a major part of your Health app assessment.

Viewing Your Data

The activity tracker app for iPhone is the best part of your Health app. Begin by viewing a summary of your data on the home screen.

The first section includes your favorite categories. You can add new favorites by clicking the star within a subcategory under options.

Click on "All Health Data" to view all data entered today, the last seven days, and the past 30 days. When you click on each piece of data, you will see a breakdown in graph form and numerical highlights.

Highlights are also included on the main summary page. Your audio hearing analysis is next on the main screen followed by additional actions you can take.

Exploring Categories

Go to the browse menu to explore all of the categories and features of the Health app. Here you can view a complete collection of data from all of your syncing apps. You can also manually enter data.

If you have more than one Apple device, you can go to the subcategory, click "Data Sources & Access," and choose edit. You will see a moveable list of all your devices. Move the primary one to the top to make its data default.

Go through all of the categories and subcategories to add data like nutritional intact, menstrual cycle information, sleep patterns, and bodily measurements.

Why Use Apple Health App?

There are many apps out there that help you keep track of your wellness endeavors, but the Apple Health App is a comprehensive source to keep all your data in one place. This gives you a chance to see the big picture of your health.

Visit our Fitness section for new ideas to add to your health regiment.