Phone apps can help boost physical activity

Volunteers who used a smartwatch in conjunction with their phone tended to log higher step counts, suggesting the phone-only users might not have been carrying it with them at all times and some of their activity was not captured. — AFP Relaxnews

Apps that prompt users to stand up and move every hour or to aim for a certain number of daily steps do help people add movement and exercise to their daily routines, a recent trial suggests.

For the study, users of an app called MyHeart Counts were assigned to four coaching interventions, and each intervention helped increase step counts by a few hundred steps per day, according to the report in The Lancet Digital Health.