Fitness tracking apps MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness have released some of the anonymised data gathered by their services, giving an insight into how American users are tracking their health and exercise routines.

According to the data from the two apps, both of which are owned by sportswear brand Under Armour, California, Colorado and Washington rank as the most active US states based on the length, frequency and type of exercise recorded there. South Carolina, Delaware and North Dakota fell on the other end of the rankings, with the least exercise recorded per person.

Between MyFitnessPals 65m users and MapMyFitness 25m, the two apps account for around a quarter of the US population, and track users diet, sleep and activity habits using both fitness tracking wearables and apps. 65 per cent of the apps users were women, and 25 to 44 year olds were the most widely represented age group.

Texas is the top state for running, with 47 per cent of all workouts there comprised of running, while Idaho led for cycling (both indoor and outdoor), which made up 19 per cent of the activities logged there.

Across the country, walking was by far the most popular activity, although California, Oregon and Washington took the top slots, with around 40 per cent of users in these states showing it as their favourite form of exercise.