We all have mobile phones, mostly smartphones. It can be Android OS (Google) or iOS (Apple). The most interesting part is the innovative apps. We download and enjoy. Every app has its uses. But the thing I’m going to discuss is about the health apps.

This time compared to last year’s statistics, the number of downloaded apps has doubled. Approximately 127 million apps were downloaded in 2011 and 247 million apps were downloaded by October 2012 (only in 10 months). You can see that people are becoming more health conscious every day. These are the stats from Android and iOS.

As of now, 40,000 health apps are available in the market for people to enjoy on their smartphones and tablets. By age group, the statistics are –

• 29% of downloads are made by the 18-29 age group.
• 18% are done from 30 to 49 years.
• People aged 50-64 made around 8% of all downloads.
• The rest of people aged 65 and over was given as 7%.

Of these apps, 90% are free and the remaining 10% cost less than $3. Although more and more people are using these apps, there is no guarantee that these apps are true and provide correct information. Meanwhile, various countries, including the US, have told developers that they must screen the apps for various types of risk effects before launching them.

With one click, people would be able to get more accurate information and they can rely on it. In 2011, the market made $1.2 billion in business, while in 2012 (through October) it was recorded as $11.2 billion. The 2 facts –

• 60% of downloaded health apps are related to exercise and weight loss.
• Compared to Android users, iPhone users are willing to spend 7% more for these apps.

Yes, until then, you must be curious what apps are so popular that people cannot resist downloading them and using them to their advantage. The list is as follows –

1. iStethoscope – This app has the maximum number of hits that is available for iPhone users and for $0.99. It is developed by Peter Bentley. This app is able to listen to your heartbeat and then display it in the form of a waveform on your phone.
2. lose it! – Lose It is another popular iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch app that can help you lose weight. This can show you the calories of a packaged food just by scanning the barcode. Aside from that, it can also help you keep track of what you ate, how many calories can be taken in today, and other related things. Yes, this app is totally free and developed by FitNow Inc.
3. Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock – Sleep Cycle is a smart alarm clock that only wakes you up when you are in the lightest stage of sleep. However, this app is not free and comes at a price of $0.99. It is claimed to have reached #1 highest paid app in many countries like Japan, Russia, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Netherlands, Norway and Taiwan.
4. T2 Mood Tracker – This app allows the user to monitor their moods. There are also some preloaded scales, like – Anxiety, Stress, Depression, Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress, General Wellbeing. It’s free. Android users can download it here.

People have also downloaded apps related to Pregnancy, Allergy Level, Doctor, etc. on their Android and iPhone. The American regulatory authority Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the developers guidelines. It has specified the mechanism to classify these apps based on behavior. For example, if the app is only related to running, it falls under the wellness category. The app is also called medical when it tells how much walking a person has to do to lose their belly fat.

For all these health apps, you have to take approval from the authorities. Furthermore, the developers are required to tell the users what are the risks involved in using this app and under what circumstances the users are required to seek the expert advice. These steps were taken after noticing the huge demand for such apps.