The Office of the Surgeon General named four mobile-phone applications the winners of the Healthy App Challenge. HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology co-sponsored the contest, which Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin announced in December.

Winning apps, according to a news release from the surgeon general's office, are Lose it!, which sets daily calorie budgets and asks users to record food intake and physical activity; GoodGuide, which uses a bar code scanner to help consumers retrieve health information about food, personal care and household products; Fooducate, which also provides a bar code scanner to compare food products and information about nutrients and additives; and Healthy Habits, which tracks a user's smoking, sunscreen use and stress.

"The Surgeon General's Healthy App Challenge highlights the ability of innovative new technologies to provide health information tailored to the needs of the user and empower the general public to regularly engage in, and enjoy, health-promoting behaviors," Dr. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health information technology, said in the news release.