New Ways to Get (and Stay) Healthier

Obesity – now officials recognized by the American Medical Association as a disease – can lead to increased risk for other diseases: hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, just to name a few. As a result, many Americans are looking for ways to get healthier and make smarter health decisions through diet and exercise. Those are good starting points, but changing habits can be easier said than done.

Obesity – now officials recognized by the American Medical Association as a disease – can lead to increased risk for other diseases: hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, just to name a few. As a result, many Americans are looking for ways to get healthier and make smarter health decisions through diet and exercise. Those are good starting points, but changing habits can be easier said than done.

Google wants to motivate people to get and stay healthy by providing easier ways to access health information. Here are just a few ways they are doing it:

• Nutritional information is now easily available for over 1,000 foods in search. By helping people get quick information about what they eat, it will help them make smarter and healthier diet decisions.

• Using voice search on the Google app, you can now quickly find out how many calories are in all types of foods, from simple ones without nutrition labels like fruits to complex ones like a burrito.

• Android devices now provide detailed biking routes for those looking for alternative ways to exercise instead of going to the gym. The maps feature colored lines showing trails and paths without cars and streets that have dedicated bike lanes.

With the help of new communication tools, staying motivated to get healthy is a little easier.