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Connected Health » Mobile Phone Apps » Be cautious when trying out new health and fitness apps

Be cautious when trying out new health and fitness apps

fitness-photoThere are so many different apps on the market today that have been specially designed to keep us on the right track when it comes to our fitness and overall health. The new year has seen even more being launched that promise to motivate us all and help us stick to those tricky resolutions too. However, an article published recently over at USA Today warns people that a lot of these applications need to be approached with caution, as the advice and suggestions they give us might not suit everyone and could be very ill-informed.

The main problem is that it’s so easy to set up an application yourself with the help of a developer, so that means you could well be reading advice, following diet tips and doing exercises that someone with little or no knowledge, experience or certification about the subject has suggested. Carol Torgan, a fellow at the American College of Sports Medicine says, “we are really in the Wild West phase of application development.”

She suggests that users should go ahead and download anything that takes their fancy, but then be cautious about the advice that they’re being given because it could be really ill-informed or just not right for your body and your lifestyle. The problem is that many of those downloading these kinds of applications have a limited knowledge of what’s right for them, so it can be really hard to tell whether an app is telling you the right kinds of things or not. Until apps and their creators get some kind of ‘seal of approval’ (which may or may not happen in the next few years), it’s more important than ever to read online reviews and then find out who’s developed the app and what their experience is before you go committing yourself to impossible exercises and diets.

[Via USA Today Image via lululemonathletica]

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3 Responses to "Be cautious when trying out new health and fitness apps"

  1. […] at the moment is that there are so many apps out there that aren’t being monitored and, as we’ve written in the past, no one can guarantee that the advice and lifestyle they’re suggesting to users is accurate […]

  2. […] most health apps on the market at the moment, all of them have to be used with caution. Although technology is advancing rapidly people without qualifications, experience and knowledge […]

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