Data and Health, An Undeniable Future
In today’s digitally-connected world, there are tons of data on just about everything. Whether you want to know about how often you check your smartphone and for what purposes or how many steps you take in a day, data holds the answers. Yet, sometimes data takes on a negative connotation, as if it’s an obscure thing taken from us by large companies without our permission. What if the average person learned to use data for their own personal benefit? We believe that by putting the data into your hands, you will be able to extract the value that can help you achieve your goals.
Let’s think about what data really is; in the most basic sense, data is any characteristic or information, usually in numerical form, that is gathered through observation. If you watch a television show and you count how many commercials run while the show is playing, you will have collected data. When it comes to data, we’re talking about any and all information.
Health data is a more specific category of information; in this case, any characteristics or qualities that are observed relating to health, amounts to health data. When you visit your doctor for an annual check-up, the doctor will spend the majority of your visit collecting updated health data and then comparing that data to previous collections. Even information as basic as your height, weight, and temperature are all relevant types of health data.
What would a world without health data look like? It would certainly be a primitive one. Our healthcare systems in every place on earth collect health data to better understand your wellbeing and the trajectory of your health. Without health data, your doctor would only be able to assess your present status — unable to compare your present status to past data, that doctor would be in a much more difficult position in terms of noticing patterns or worsening of a condition. Even something as simple as your weight would not be as effectively managed without health data. With no previous weight to compare your current weight to, the doctor can’t truly assess whether you’re making progress in losing weight or moving towards health risks by gaining weight. A world with health data is simply a healthier world.
For many people, health data is integral to their success. Athletes are one example in which health data plays a significant role in their health and careers. More so than the average person, an athlete is constantly monitoring their weight, muscle mass, and other metrics as they pertain to their specific activity. For athletes, even one pound can make the difference when competing in sports where weight plays a key role. If you’re a competitive swimmer or runner, the data on how fast you run and how quickly you’re able to make gains on improving that speed is integral to your career.
Health data can do amazing things, but how can it be used most effectively for the average person who does not plan on any Olympic level sports activity any time soon? For the rest of us, health data is all about staying healthy and catching early signs of illness. By using data to check your progress towards a health goal, like being able to run with more endurance or losing weight, you will be much more effective in obtaining your goals. Health data gives you tangible information that clearly indicates if your strategies are helping you or hurting you in achieving your health goals. They’re also vital when it comes to catching signs of illness early on so treatment can help you stop the development of disease or even a common cold before it worsens. Here at HealU, we believe that by using your health data, people can take an active role in boosting their health and living longer, healthier lives.