Originally published in print in February 2026. View print issues here.

Most teenagers have at least one health app on their phone — whether it’s Apple Health, a step counter, a calorie tracker or an app that scans food labels to designate products as “good” or “bad.”

On the Apple iPhone, people can easily track their physical wellbeing through the Apple Health app, which organizes health data from connected devices and apps and automatically counts steps. It integrates with the Apple Watch to track cardiovascular health, blood pressure, sleep and activity.

Junior Anna Waller, who practices gymnastics for about three hours a day and competes on weekends, constantly checks her trends to help maintain her fitness and nutrition level.

“Having all your data laid out in a specific form is at least easier for my brain to wrap around my trends and what I’m eating on one day versus another,” Waller said.

Health apps encourage students to move, eat better or sleep more. However, it can also create stress, anxiety or pressure to reach a certain goal. Waller describes how anxiety can get to her sometimes when checking the health app.

“It’s also anxiety inducing, seeing what I’m eating and intaking and how that affects me,” Waller said.

For Waller, tracking her nutrition is an important part of her daily routine.

“[The app] has definitely given me a different perspective on foods and what they do to your body, especially as an athlete trying to control your protein intake,” Waller said.

Foods teacher Debbie Gorton explains why balancing eating matters to students.

“A healthy diet includes a variety of foods and limits highly processed or junk food,” Gorton said. “It’s about balance, not cutting everything out.”

Gorton believes that teens are influenced by the health expectations that circulate on social media. Health apps can serve as a helpful guide, providing clear feedback and support for making balanced choices.

“Students hear a lot about food everywhere right now,” Gorton said. “Apps and social media definitely influence how they think about eating. Some of that information is helpful, and some of it can be confusing, so learning how to think critically about food really matters.”

For junior Abhi Ramanath, who uses the app MyFitness Pal, it’s a necessity for him to track his nutrition.

“You have to know what you’re eating,” Ramanath said. “There’s no harm in sneaking in a couple unhealthy stuff — that’s not gonna kill you but just mainly being accountable and understanding what you eat.”

Samsung devices include Samsung Health, an app that tracks sleep, fitness, nutrition, heart rate and medication through phones and compatible wearables like Galaxy watches and rings. Android users can also use Google Fit, which personalizes fitness goals and syncs with wearable health trackers such as the Oura and Galaxy rings.

Weight training teacher Christopher Jensen tracks his fitness and nutrition through an Oura ring — a health tracker worn on the finger that connects biometric data such as heart rate, sleep patterns and activity levels. It helps users monitor overall wellness and fitness trends through a connected app, as the Oura ring is compatible with most phones that connect to Bluetooth.

As health apps continue to evolve, many are beginning to use artificial intelligence to tailor personalized feedback and recommendations to each user.

AI is able to identify patterns in heart rate, sleep, activity, recovery or nutrition over time by analyzing users’ personal habits through a health app. According to a 2025 Harris Poll sponsored by Verily, “three-quarters would prefer more personalized solutions,” with 76% saying they want apps that help them understand their health data over time and 75% seeking individualized recommendations.

Jensen also uses another app not provided by his phone called Hevy, which helps him track food intake and manage his fitness progress and goals. Through the app, he is able to take pictures of his meal and get immediate feedback that aligns with his goals.

Jensen noticed how AI has changed the way health apps personalize fitness tracking.

“Health apps are more personalized for each person because a lot of them, especially with the way AI is, can personalize things pretty good for you,” Jensen said.

Many health and fitness apps have started shifting toward AI-driven features, using machine learning to analyze user data over time and offer more personalized insight, goals and feedback tailored to individual habits.

Physical health is important for everyone, and different apps help users understand their bodies in their own way. By tracking daily habits and activity, these tools give personalized insights that help users understand and respond to their individual physical needs. Phone apps organize and analyze daily habits, smartwatches track activity and smart rings monitor subtle body signals like sleep, recovery and nutrition.

Jensen emphasized the individuality of fitness, noting how personal factors shape each student’s progress.

“Exercise is really personal to the person, their size, everything about them,” Jensen said. “That’s what I try to preach in class.”

Illustration by Amelia Martorano