A forthcoming survey by Pew Internet will say that one fifth of those American adults who track their own health indicators such as blood pressure, blood sugar, headaches or sleep patterns use some piece of technology such as a mobile app, a device, a spreadsheet or a website to do it.

Other findings are that 60 percent of American adults track their weight, diet or exercise routine. And one third of them track their health indicators or symptoms such as blood pressure, blood sugar, headaches or sleep patterns. Meanwhile one third of carers track a health indicator on behalf of a family member or friend. Overall, seven in ten American adults do some kind of self tracking.

The results were previewed by Susannah Fox, the organisation’s associate director of digital strategy, in a speech to the Connected Health Symposium in Boston.