With obesity on the rise in the U.S., getting people to exercise again is now the fashionable thing to do. So much so that even the First Lady has made healthy eating and exercise one of her signature goals. Now that the Olympics starting five weeks from Wednesday, the opportunity may be right to get people thinking about being healthy, at least for a little while, and other some big name companies are striking while that iron is hot.

Facebook and General Electric are partnering to launch the HealthyShare app, GE announced on Tuesday.

The app is meant to get people exercising during the 17 day Olympic games by having them set goals, track their progress, share their goals with their friends, and have their friends encourage them.

“Whether your goal is to lose weight, walk more or pursue an Olympic dream, GE believes that your friends can be good for your health. We want to give consumers a platform to get motivated around better health tapping into the Olympic spirit,” said Linda Boff, global executive director, digital, advertising and design at General Electric.

The app gives users three different options to choose from:

The Get Moving path, which is just a simple reminder of the health benefits of walking, while the Eat Healthier path encourages users of the app to change one thing about their diet, be it eating more vegetables, or eating less fat.

The most intriguing of the three is the Work Out Like an Olympian path, which gives users the workout routines of basketball player Kevin Durant, soccer player Alex Morgan, track star Michael Johnson and swimmer Summer Sanders. These Olympic athletes provided their fitness routines to “inspire others to reach higher, go further, run faster, dream bigger, do better and live longer.”

The main goal of the app seems to be building a support system for people attempting to achieve healthy goals. The app becomes a part of the users Facebook timeline and their friends will be encouraged to support them.

“Many research studies show that our friends can help us live healthier lives,” said Paul Adams, Facebook’s global head of brand design. “By supporting each other, we increase people’s motivation, helping them meet their goals of feeling better, and being healthier and happier. This new tool by GE is the first step in a vision to help people be healthier by interacting with their friends.”

While the release of the app is centered around the Olympics, it will continue long after the games are over.

The plan is to learn quickly from this release and continually improve this tool together in the coming months,” Adams says.

 (Image source: findingthin.wordpress.com)