Microsoft Health is the latest fitness tracking platform to be launched, just one day after Google Fit was unveiled. It joins Apple's Health Kit and Samsung's S Health.
The app will work across multiple platforms, Microsoft said in a blog post, and is being released in conjunction with the Microsoft Band, the company's wearable being sold for $199 (125) and available from Microsoft Stores from today.
The Band has been designed to track steps, heart rate, sleep patterns and more, but also has the ability to display texts, emails and Twitter alerts. It is thus being targeted at "people who are active both in the gym and on the job," and is designed to be worn 24-hours a day.
"This is just the beginning of a multi-year vision for Microsoft in the health & fitness and wearables category," Microsoft said in a statement. "We want to enter this space in a deliberate and measured fashion and as such are launching first in the United States."
Like offerings from other companies, the main purpose of Microsoft Health is to centralise data from third-party apps in addition to collecting its own, streamlining the health and fitness experience for users.
Health will also offer users the option of sharing their data with their doctor via HealthVault.
Ben Wood from CSS Insight told BBC News: "Consumers now have an overwhelming choice of health-related cloud platforms to choose from. They can be forgiven for being confused by the multitude of options. It's going to be a tough decision to choose whether to place their loyalty with Apple, Google or Microsoft given the immaturity of all three platforms."
Judging from the blog post, Microsoft is keen to push the idea of insights, rather than just the platform's ability to keep track of data and store it indefinitely. These include which individual exercises are more efficient at burning calories during a workout or whether eating breakfast improves performance.
The Health app will be available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. It is designed to collect all health and fitness-related data from the user's device and store it in one place. It currently works with apps with include Jawbone, MapMyFitness, My Fitness Pal and Runkeeper.
Mike Lee, CEO of MyFitnessPal, said: "At MyFitnessPal, user success is our true North, and we are excited to join Microsoft in its mission to make fitness easier through Microsoft Health.
"Plugging into its cloud platform will allow us to match up fitness and nutrition data from our 65 million users around the world with deeper and broader data, ultimately helping people build even healthier habits in their everyday lives."
