How to Create a Readable PDF Summary from Apple Health Data
Raw Health records are useful for analysis, but sometimes you need a document you can read at a glance. A PDF summary can turn selected data into metrics and monthly trends without pretending to be a medical report.
Selected Health records, in a format you can actually use.
Turn selected Apple Health records into a readable PDF summary with key metrics, monthly trends, date range, and data-coverage details using Export Health.
Export Health
Export selected Apple Health records as CSV or create a readable PDF summary with key metrics, monthly trends, and data coverage details.
Why a PDF summary can be easier to review
Health data is often stored as many individual samples. That is useful for software, but less convenient when you simply want to look back at a period and understand the shape of the data.
Export Health creates a Health Summary Report from the supported categories you select. It summarizes the available records and places the result in a shareable PDF.
What the summary can calculate
For Steps, the report can show total steps plus an average per active day. Active Energy can show total kilocalories. Walking + Running Distance can show total miles. Flights Climbed can show a total.
Heart Rate and Resting Heart Rate can show averages. Body Weight can show the latest available weight. Sleep Analysis can show average hours per sleep day when sleep records are available.
Monthly trend charts
The report can create monthly charts for supported categories with chartable data. Steps, Active Energy, and Distance use monthly totals; Heart Rate, Resting Heart Rate, and Body Weight use monthly averages; Sleep uses average sleep duration by month.
The PDF renderer displays up to four trend charts in the finished report, so the document stays compact and readable even when several categories are selected.
Data coverage matters
A selected date range does not guarantee that Apple Health will return records for every day in that period. Export Health therefore prints both the selected range and the coverage represented by the records it actually received.
If coverage is shorter, the report includes a note explaining that missing dates usually mean those records are not stored or restored on the device.
What this PDF is — and what it is not
The PDF is designed for personal review, organization, archiving, or sharing context with someone you choose. It is generated on-device from selected Apple Health records.
It is not a medical report and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or recommendations. The numbers are straightforward summaries of the data Apple Health returns to the app.
Which Health categories can appear in the summary?
The PDF Summary can be created from the same eight supported categories available in Export Health: Steps, Active Energy, Walking + Running Distance, Sleep Analysis, Flights Climbed, Heart Rate, Resting Heart Rate, and Body Weight.
You choose the categories and date range before creating the report. The report then works only with the records Apple Health makes available to the app for that selection.
How the key metrics differ by category
The summary does not force every Health category into the same calculation. Steps can show total steps plus an average per active day. Active Energy can show total kilocalories, Walking + Running Distance can show total distance, and Flights Climbed can show a total.
Heart Rate and Resting Heart Rate can be summarized with averages. Body Weight can show the latest available weight. Sleep Analysis can show average hours per sleep day when qualifying sleep records are available. These are straightforward calculations over the returned records, not medical interpretations.
What the monthly charts are designed to show
Monthly charts are intended to make longer date ranges easier to scan. Steps, Active Energy, and Walking + Running Distance use monthly totals. Heart Rate, Resting Heart Rate, and Body Weight use monthly averages, while Sleep uses average sleep duration by month.
The finished PDF renders up to four trend charts. That limit is intentional: the report stays compact instead of turning into a long dashboard when many categories are selected.
Why coverage information belongs in the report
A date range is a request, not a guarantee that a Health sample exists for every day. A user might select January through June while the available records begin in March, or one category may have gaps because data was never recorded, was removed, or is not available on the current device.
For that reason, Export Health includes both the selected period and information about the coverage represented by the records it received. That context helps you understand what the summary is actually based on before you use or share it.
A PDF summary is not a medical report
The report is designed for personal review, organization, archiving, and sharing context you choose to share. It does not decide whether a trend is healthy or unhealthy, flag medical conditions, provide a diagnosis, or make treatment recommendations.
If you need the underlying individual records rather than a condensed overview, use the CSV export instead. The two formats are complementary: CSV for raw rows, PDF for a readable summary.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in an Export Health PDF Summary?
Depending on the selected categories and available data: key metric cards, monthly trends, selected date range, data coverage, included categories, and source-row count.
How many trend charts can appear?
The finished PDF renders up to four monthly trend charts.
Does the PDF contain every raw Health sample?
No. The PDF summarizes the selected records. Use CSV when you need individual rows.
Can I share the PDF?
Yes. Once created on-device, you can use the standard iOS share workflow to save or share the file.
Is the PDF a medical interpretation?
No. It is a readable summary of selected Health records and simple calculations, not medical advice or diagnosis.
Related Export Health guides
Export Apple Health data to CSV · Export Apple Health data from iPhone · Create a readable PDF Health summary
Last updated: August 16, 2026