For anyone who is looking to loss weight or improve their fitness levels, there are a number of online social networks that have been created specifically to connect people and help them to meet their goals. Many of the sites share similar features, such as the ability to track your diet and workout, but each social network has its own features and a unique community of users.

Here is an introduction to 15 of the best social networks for health and fitness.

Traineo

With Traineo you can create an account, set a weight loss goal with a specific target date of accomplishment. You’ll then record your activities/exercise each day as well as the food you eat and their calorie counts. You can connect with other users to help motivate each other and simply recording your info each day will help you to achieve your goals. They also have trained professionals who are available to help you.

DailyBurn

DailyBurn is a community with over 125,000 members who are looking to either lose weight or build muscle, or both. You can easily track what you eat, record your workouts, and interact with a large community of users.

SparkPeople

SparkPeople is a large and active community. The site includes over 100,000 articles, recipes, and tips. With SparkPeople you can set up your own profile and blog, use the message boards, watch videos, and more. The site is part of a larger network of sites, including Spark Recipes, Daily Spark, Spark America, and a few others.

Health Ranker

Health Ranker is a social health news site where users can submit links to articles and information on other websites, and other users vote to determine which content gets promoted to the front page and receives the most exposure. Health Ranker includes news in various categories, including health news, fitness, food and nutrition, diet and weight loss, health care and more.

Daily Strength

Daily Strength includes support groups and forums for its users. It is a large network of more than 500 support groups where members share advice, treatment experiences, and support. The available support groups are categorized so you can find just what you are looking for.

BodySpace

BodySpace is a social network that is part of BodyBuilding.com. At BodySpace you can create a profile and a BodyBlog, share photos, diet and workout information, and connect with other users. The community at BodySpace is geared towards body building more so than weight loss or general health and fitness.

My Fit Tribe

My Fit Tribe allows you to create an account, set your goals, and track your activities and progress towards the goals. The site includes lots of articles, videos, workouts and more. You can also upload pictures, join groups and participate in the forums.

MyPypeline

MyPypeline includes over 500 high quality exercise videos that users can view and download. The videos can be downloaded to an iPod for portability or burned on a DVD. There are a variety of different programs to meet the needs of a variety of users. Programs are designed for either 4 weeks, 6 weeks,, or 12 weeks in length.

WellSphere

At WellSphere you can search for articles and information on health-related topics, or you can connect with the community of users. There are tons of communities for all different purposes, including healthy eating, rock climbing, strength training, vitamins and supplements, yoga, children’s health, and much more.

FitLink

Create an account at FitLink and you can Keep a workout journal, map running / cycling routes, plan activities, research exercises, calculate your body mass index, read fitness articles, discuss new ideas and much more. You can also network with other users like yourself to find activity partners and training groups.

ShapeFit

With ShapeFit you can track your diet and your exercises and meet new friends. The site includes exercise guides, workouts, exercise videos, success stories, forums, games, questions and answers, and more.

FitClick

FitClick’s Social Fitness tool helps you to design a diet plan and workout, and you can also track your progress. The site includes groups and message boards to provide users with an opportunity to connect and network with other users.

ExtraPounds

At ExtraPounds you can join the community and start your own diet weight loss blog to document your progress and interact with other users. The site also includes weight loss support groups, weight loss tools, and a food diary that you can use to track what you eat.

Walker Tracker

Walker Tracker exists to help its users to log and track their steps. The site encourages the use of pedometers and walking for losing weight and improving fitness levels. If walking is a frequent activity of yours, you can connect with others like yourself and hopefully get even more motivation from the community.

FitFiend

FitFiend is a social network for health, fitness, and athletics. As a user you can connect to fitness professionals, as well as other users like yourself. Users can track their workouts, find activity partners, and discuss fitness-related topics with other users.