Data types

Understand the different types of health data available in HealthKit

HealthKit organizes health data into several categories, each designed for specific kinds of information. React Native HealthKit provides full TypeScript support for all data types.

Quantity types

Quantity types represent numerical measurements with units. There are over 100 quantity types available:

import { queryQuantitySamples } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const samples = await queryQuantitySamples('HKQuantityTypeIdentifierStepCount', {
  limit: 10
});

console.log(samples[0].quantity); // 1500
console.log(samples[0].unit);     // count

Common quantity types

Body measurements

• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierHeight - Height in meters/feet
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBodyMass - Body weight
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBodyMassIndex - BMI
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBodyFatPercentage - Body fat %
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierLeanBodyMass - Lean body mass
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierWaistCircumference - Waist measurement

Fitness

• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierStepCount - Steps taken
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDistanceWalkingRunning - Distance walked/ran
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDistanceCycling - Cycling distance
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierFlightsClimbed - Stairs climbed
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierActiveEnergyBurned - Active calories
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBasalEnergyBurned - Resting calories

Vitals

• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierHeartRate - Heart rate (BPM)
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierRestingHeartRate - Resting heart rate
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierHeartRateVariabilitySDNN - HRV (SDNN)
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierRespiratoryRate - Breathing rate
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBodyTemperature - Body temperature
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBloodPressureSystolic - Systolic blood pressure
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBloodPressureDiastolic - Diastolic blood pressure
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierOxygenSaturation - Blood oxygen %

Health metrics

• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBloodGlucose - Blood sugar
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierInsulinDelivery - Insulin dosage
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierVO2Max - VO2 max measurement

Nutrition

• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDietaryEnergyConsumed - Calories consumed
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDietaryProtein - Protein intake
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDietaryCarbohydrates - Carbs intake
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDietaryFatTotal - Fat intake
• HKQuantityTypeIdentifierDietaryWater - Water intake

Read-only vs writeable types

Some quantity types are read-only and computed by the system:

type QuantityTypeIdentifierReadOnly = 
  | 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierWalkingHeartRateAverage'
  | 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierAtrialFibrillationBurden'
  | 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierAppleExerciseTime'
  | 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierAppleStandTime'
  | 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierAppleWalkingSteadiness';

You can read these types but cannot write to them. Most other quantity types are writeable.

Category types

Category types represent data that falls into predefined categories. There are 63 category types:

import { queryCategorySamples } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const sleepSamples = await queryCategorySamples('HKCategoryTypeIdentifierSleepAnalysis', {
  limit: 10
});

console.log(sleepSamples[0].value); // CategoryValueSleepAnalysis.asleepCore

Common category types

Sleep

• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierSleepAnalysis - Sleep stages (awake, asleep, core, deep, REM)

Mindfulness

• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierMindfulSession - Meditation sessions

Reproductive health

• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierMenstrualFlow - Menstrual cycle tracking
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierIntermenstrualBleeding - Spotting
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierOvulationTestResult - Ovulation test results
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierSexualActivity - Sexual activity
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierContraceptive - Contraceptive use
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierPregnancy - Pregnancy tracking
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierLactation - Breastfeeding

Health events

• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierHighHeartRateEvent - High heart rate notifications
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierLowHeartRateEvent - Low heart rate notifications
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierIrregularHeartRhythmEvent - AFib notifications
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierLowCardioFitnessEvent - Low fitness notifications
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierAppleWalkingSteadinessEvent - Walking steadiness alerts
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierHandwashingEvent - Handwashing events
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierToothbrushingEvent - Toothbrushing events

Symptoms (45+ types)

• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierHeadache
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierNausea
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierFatigue
• HKCategoryTypeIdentifierDizziness
• And many more…

Workout activity types

Workout types represent physical activities. There are 75+ workout activity types:

import { saveWorkoutSample, WorkoutActivityType } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const workout = await saveWorkoutSample({
  workoutActivityType: WorkoutActivityType.running,
  start: new Date(Date.now() - 1800000), // 30 min ago
  end: new Date(),
  totalDistance: { quantity: 5, unit: 'km' },
  totalEnergyBurned: { quantity: 300, unit: 'kcal' }
});

Common workout types

enum WorkoutActivityType {
  running = 37,
  walking = 52,
  cycling = 13,
  swimming = 46,
  yoga = 57,
  functionalStrengthTraining = 20,
  traditionalStrengthTraining = 50,
  highIntensityIntervalTraining = 63,
  hiking = 24,
  elliptical = 16,
  stairClimbing = 44,
  rowing = 35,
  // ... 75+ types total
}

Workouts can include:

• Duration
• Total distance
• Total energy burned
• Events (pause, resume, lap markers)
• Routes (GPS locations)
• Heart rate and other metrics

Correlation types

Correlation types group related samples together:

import { saveCorrelationSample } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

// Blood pressure correlation combines systolic and diastolic
await saveCorrelationSample(
  'HKCorrelationTypeIdentifierBloodPressure',
  [
    {
      quantityType: 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBloodPressureSystolic',
      unit: 'mmHg',
      quantity: 120
    },
    {
      quantityType: 'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierBloodPressureDiastolic', 
      unit: 'mmHg',
      quantity: 80
    }
  ],
  new Date(),
  new Date()
);

Available correlation types:

• HKCorrelationTypeIdentifierBloodPressure - Systolic + diastolic readings
• HKCorrelationTypeIdentifierFood - Food items with nutrition data

Document types

Document types represent clinical documents:

• CDA documents - Exposed as Base64 data for Clinical Document Architecture documents

Document types are read-only and cannot be written by third-party apps.

Clinical records

Clinical records contain medical data in FHIR JSON format:

• Lab results
• Medications
• Immunizations
• Procedures
• Allergies
• Conditions
• Vital signs from clinical visits

Clinical Records access requires special approval from Apple and is not available in the current version. Use version 3.x or the “including-clinical-records” branch if you need clinical records access.

Characteristic types

Characteristic types represent unchanging user information:

import { 
  getBiologicalSex,
  getBloodType,
  getDateOfBirth,
  getFitzpatrickSkinType,
  getWheelchairUse,
  BiologicalSex,
  BloodType
} from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const sex = getBiologicalSex();           // BiologicalSex.female
const bloodType = getBloodType();         // BloodType.oPositive  
const dob = getDateOfBirth();             // Date object
const skinType = getFitzpatrickSkinType(); // FitzpatrickSkinType
const wheelchair = getWheelchairUse();     // WheelchairUse

These are configured by the user in the Health app and cannot be written by third-party apps.

Type availability

Some types are only available on specific iOS versions. Check availability before using:

import { isObjectTypeAvailable } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const isAvailable = isObjectTypeAvailable('HKQuantityTypeIdentifierTimeInDaylight');

if (isAvailable) {
  // iOS 17+ feature
}

For multiple types:

import { areObjectTypesAvailable } from '@kingstinct/react-native-healthkit';

const availability = areObjectTypesAvailable([
  'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierStepCount',
  'HKQuantityTypeIdentifierTimeInDaylight'
]);

// { "HKQuantityTypeIdentifierStepCount": true, "HKQuantityTypeIdentifierTimeInDaylight": false }

Related APIs

• queryQuantitySamples() - Query quantity samples
• queryCategorySamples() - Query category samples
• queryWorkoutSamples() - Query workouts
• queryCorrelationSamples() - Query correlations
• isObjectTypeAvailable() - Check if a type is available
• areObjectTypesAvailable() - Check multiple types