University of Manchester launches BeeActive app to improve fitness

A new app has been launched in Manchester to help locals improve fitness.

The BeeActive app has been designed by The University of Manchester’s Health eResearch Centre (HeRC) to make the streets of the city appear more fun, encouraging people to increase their fitness levels and to explore the city of Manchester.

Users set themselves personal daily steps goals and then the app will send out notifications of encouragement as well as missions for people to accept.

For example, if a user is on the bus, it may remind them that they could get off the bus earlier to increase their step count.

To start with, the app will only be for the 150,000 people who live and work near the Oxford Road Corridor, an innovation district in Manchester city centre.

However, it could be rolled out further afield in the future.

A spokeswoman for The University of Manchester told Digital Health News that data collected from the app will be ‘handled carefully and with consent’.

“Anonymised data will be shared with The University of Manchester for research purposes and anonymised aggregated data will be available to CityVerve partners, but we will not be able to identify anyone from that,” they added.

The Innovate UK funded app was launched on October 24 and is available for download from the Google Play Store and the Apple App store.

Charlotte Stockton-Powdrell, BeeActive project manager said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to become part of Manchester’s technology demonstrator project which could help shape the future of the way we engage with technology.”

“It is also a chance to explore the city of Manchester, to learn more about its history and of course to increase your activity in a fun way”, she added.

The BeeActive app has been created as part of CityVerve which is a consortium of 20 organisations including Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester City Council and The University of Manchester.

It aims to build and deliver a smarter, more connected Manchester, creating a city that uses technology to meet the complex needs of those who live there.

In September, Apple announced the third generation Apple Watch would include enhanced heart monitoring which will provide warning notifications if an elevated heart rate is detected during a period of inactivity.