Apple Watch helping the elderly meet daily activity goals: Study

A team of researchers who used activity data shared from the Apple Heart and Movement Study has found that participants ages 65 and older were more likely than their younger counterparts to stay on track, meeting their goal of at least 150 minutes of activity per week.

The researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US, in collaboration with the American Heart Association and Apple, found that after analysing more than 18 million workouts logged using Apple Watch during the pandemic, study participants relied on getting their activity minutes in by walking, cycling, and running the most.

Across genders and ages, participants with above-average Cardio Fitness levels averaged more than 200 minutes of activity per week, while those with high Cardio Fitness averaged more than 300 minutes of activity per week, the findings showed.

"The Apple Heart and Movement Study is collecting ongoing detailed information on activity and health from a large number of participants using Apple Watch, which offers researchers an ongoing estimation of Cardio Fitness, an established measurement of cardiovascular fitness," said Calum MacRae, principal investigator of the Apple Heart and Movement Study and professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"We anticipate that exploring physiology at this scale with such a rich research data set will shed light on wellness and maintaining health," MacRae said in a statement.

Apple is also rolling out a series of new heart health resources in February to support users' health journeys to stay moving and informed.

Marking Heart Month, Apple is offering custom compilations across Apple Fitness+, the App Store, the Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books.

"Today, people of all ages can use our products and services to learn more about staying healthy, work toward their personal goals, and have a lot of fun along the way," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer.

Starting February 14, Fitness+ will feature a special section of 30-minute energising workouts that will motivate users in the US to get their weekly minutes of exercise.

To help Apple Watch users stay motivated, Apple is offering a new Heart Month Activity Challenge to help people of all fitness levels put their health first by completing 30 minutes in their Exercise ring on February 14 to earn a special award.

--IANS

na/