According to the 2018 Physical Activity Council Participation Report, 25 per cent of Americans are inactive on average, but of those making less than US$25,000 a year, 42 per cent are inactive.
This is the sixth consecutive year this group has experienced a decrease in activity levels. Meanwhile, households with an income of more than US$75,000 a year continue to experience increasing activity rates.
This study is not the first to discover a link between income and level of activity. UK research, carried out by the Centre for Market and Public Organisation at Bristol University, found that education, income and location all play a part in determining how active people are. It found that only 12 per cent of people who are degree educated are inactive, while those with no such qualification are three times more likely to do little or no physical activity.
Clearly affordability is a major barrier, but is this something that operators are prepared to remove? Dave Thomas, co-founder of London club, The Foundry, (see Health Club Management May 2018, p39) has set up a charitable arm that offers some free memberships, in order to combat this problem. Would other operators be prepared to follow suit? Would this be the answer, or do other factors come into play?
With its wealth of expertise and facilities, the industry is well placed to reach out, but does it have the commitment and creativity to do so? What could be the way forward and what is already happening? Does this need a big funding pot, or can changes be made without much expenditure? We ask the experts…