Your phone's native Health app: Tracking calories burned vs. consumed
When it comes to tracking calories with your smartphone's built-in health application, the first thing to understand is the difference between calories burned and calories consumed. Native apps like Apple Health and Samsung Health are excellent at passively and actively measuring your energy expenditure, but they are less sophisticated for logging dietary intake.
How Apple Health handles calorie tracking
Apple Health is the central hub for all health data on an iPhone and uses data from your device's motion sensors or a paired Apple Watch. The app tracks two main types of energy: active energy and resting energy.
- Active Energy: This represents the calories you burn through movement and exercise. If you wear an Apple Watch, it uses heart rate and motion data for a more accurate reading. Without a watch, the iPhone's motion sensors estimate active calories based on steps, distance, and flights climbed.
- Resting Energy: Also known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), this is the energy your body expends to perform basic functions like breathing and pumping blood. Apple Health estimates this based on your profile information (age, height, weight, gender).
- Total Calories: You can see your total daily calorie burn (resting + active) in the Fitness app by swiping left on the Move chart.
- Calorie Intake: For calories consumed, Apple Health can store this data, but it relies on either manual input or data from a compatible third-party food-tracking app. It does not have its own comprehensive food database or barcode scanner.
How Samsung Health tracks calories
Similar to Apple's ecosystem, Samsung Health is the default health app for Samsung devices and offers both tracking and management features.
- Calories Burned: Like its Apple counterpart, Samsung Health automatically tracks calories burned from physical activity. This data can be viewed on the app, and also from a paired Galaxy Watch.
- Calorie Intake: Samsung Health includes a built-in food tracking feature called 'Food' where you can log your meals and set a target caloric intake. While functional, its database is less extensive than specialized apps.
The crucial role of third-party apps
While native apps provide a good overview of your burned calories, a comprehensive nutrition diet strategy requires precise tracking of consumed calories. This is where third-party apps become essential. They fill the gap with robust features that native apps lack. Both Apple Health and Samsung Health are designed to integrate with these specialized services, creating a unified health data ecosystem.
Common third-party apps for nutrition tracking:
- MyFitnessPal: Boasts one of the largest food databases and includes a barcode scanner for easy logging of packaged foods.
- Lose It!: User-friendly app with a barcode scanner and a "Snap It" feature that uses photo recognition to identify foods.
- Cronometer: Known for its focus on tracking micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) in addition to calories and macros.
- FatSecret: Offers a free option with food and exercise diaries, a barcode scanner, and a community support forum.
A comparative look at calorie tracking options
| Feature | Apple Health | Samsung Health | Third-Party Apps (e.g., MyFitnessPal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories Burned | ✅ Automatic (via iPhone/Watch) | ✅ Automatic (via device/Watch) | 🔄 Syncs with native app data |
| Calories Consumed | ⚠️ Manual input or 3rd party sync | ✅ Built-in food logger | ✅ Comprehensive food database, barcode scanner, recipe logging |
| Barcode Scanner | ❌ Not a native feature | ❌ Not a native feature | ✅ Standard feature for quick logging |
| Food Database | ❌ Requires manual input | ✅ Basic built-in database | ✅ Vast, regularly updated database of millions of foods |
| Micronutrient Tracking | ❌ No native support | ❌ No native support | ✅ Detailed tracking and reporting |
| Personalized Plans | ❌ Not native | ❌ Not native | ✅ Often includes customized meal and diet plans |
| Integration | ✅ Excellent with HealthKit | ✅ Good with Health Connect | ✅ Excellent with Apple Health and Samsung Health |
Integrating third-party apps with your health app
To get the best of both worlds—detailed food logging and an overall health dashboard—you must connect your third-party app to your native health app. This process is straightforward:
- Grant Permissions: Install your chosen third-party app and go to its settings. Look for an option like "Connect to Apple Health" or "Sync with Samsung Health".
- Select Data to Share: You will be prompted to choose which data categories the app can read or write. For comprehensive tracking, grant permission for the app to write "Dietary Energy" to your native health app. You can also allow it to read your burned calories from the native app for a complete picture.
- Prioritize Data Sources: In your phone's native health app settings, you can manage and prioritize data sources. If you use multiple apps, you can decide which one's data is given priority.
Conclusion: The integrated approach is best for a comprehensive nutrition diet
While your phone's native health app can track calories, particularly those you burn through activity, its capabilities are limited for detailed nutrition tracking. A truly effective nutrition diet plan relies on accurately monitoring both consumed and expended calories, along with macro and micronutrients. The most efficient strategy is to leverage the specialized features of a third-party food-logging app for your dietary intake, while continuing to use your phone or wearable for activity tracking. By syncing this data to your native health app, you create a powerful, centralized platform for all your health metrics, helping you stay informed and motivated on your wellness journey. For a deeper dive into managing your Apple Health data, you can visit the Apple Support page on managing Health data.
