Cleveland Clinic free mobile wellness app extols ‘Let’s Move It!’

Cleveland Clinic has released a free wellness application for mobile devices that combines a pedometer with various walking challenges.

The “Let’s Move It!” app challenges users to walk the equivalent mileage between Cleveland Browns Stadium and Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, for example. The app is part of the Clinic’s “Let’s Move It!” campaign, a collaboration between the Clinic and the three major Cleveland sports teams that’s aimed at encouraging people to be more active and, in turn, reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases.

The app also features wellness tips, a video channel, a calorie converter and personal statistics, such as miles walked and calories spent. Users can share their progress through social networking websites. The app is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch, according to a statement from Cleveland Clinic.

“The Let’s Move It! app makes exercise fun by creating friendly competitions among users,” said Michael Roizen, the Clinic’s chief wellness officer and chairman of the health system’s Wellness Institute. “Research has shown that people who have access to an interactive, social exercise environment are more likely to actually exercise.”

The new app isn’t the Clinic’s first foray into the mobile apps market. In June, it released a $1.99 app called “Stress Meditations” that’s intended to help mobile users engage in stress-relieving techniques. Last year, the Clinic’s Wellness Tip of the Day free iPhone app got an honorable mention in CNET’s Top 5 iPhone fitness apps ranking. The apps are part of the Clinic’s growing wellness practice.

Mayo Clinic also has jumped aboard the app train, partnering with a technology firm to create a company aimed at creating smartphone apps based on Mayo research. The new company’s first offering was a $4.99 meditation app released in January.