From wearables to measuring participation, microgyms to the emergence of the public sector, TLDC's David Minton offers insights based on the latest State of the Fitness Industry Report

2014 will be the year that operators decide whether they want to play a recognised role within the health sector, says ukactive's David Stalker

Think retention was bad before? It's now worse than ever, according to new research from Dr Paul Bedford

Is 'exercise is medicine' an appealing message for the public, or is it too geared towards doctors?

Does the sector need to cement its intent to combat physical inactivity with a bold ‘physical inactivity kills' message, asks Kate Cracknell

Kristen Walsh previews next month's 33rd IHRSA International Convention and Trade Show

The removal of physical activity from the QOF is a blow to our sector, and we must lobby to have it reinstated, says Kate Cracknell

trendwatching.com's Henry Mason identifies some of the key consumer trends for the fitness sector to run with in 2014, from Crowd Shaping to The Internet of Caring Things

Kristen Walsh reports on events at IHRSA's recent European Convention in Madrid, which attracted a record 600 delegates

Health clubs must invest in upskilling their managers if the sector is to gain credibility and build a strong future, says Liz Terry

The CEO of LA fitness talks to Kate Cracknell about the recent launch of its premium LAX brand

Will the classification of obesity as a disease in the US bring better treatment, or will it take the onus to lose weight away from the individual?

Trent Brown analyses a new report on the Australian and New Zealand health and fitness markets

Anna Rounaja of Hukka Oy considers success in the Finnish fitness market, and IHRSA publishes its latest European report

The latest Global MONITOR report from The Futures Company presents the trends and opportunities in wellness

A report on the third annual Health Club Awards, which took place during LIW in September

Recent media reports on exercise and lack of weight loss may have confused many people, says Rod Hill of Anytime Fitness Iberia

What are the challenges faced by fitness brands looking to expand globally? Is there an ideal model for international success? We ask our panel of experts

What will be the future of the traditional full-service club in the face of the growing microgym market? Kate Cracknell reports

Nicole Hearn pays a visit to London-based City Athletic, which offers its members the opportunity to train like elite athletes

An interview with futurologist Magnus Lindkvist ahead of his speech at the IHRSA European Congress in Madrid next month

Are operators supporting their members in maintaining good habits, are they leaving them to motivate themselves – or worse still, are they causing them to break good habits?

To improve retention, operators need to become much more surgical in their analysis of why members are leaving, says Kate Cracknell

Member retention rates continue to drop across the fitness sector, according to a new national report by Dr Paul Bedford

How could the new wave of wearable technologies affect the fitness market? Industry expert Bryan O'Rourke shares his views

Laura Dagg takes a look forward to the highlights of this year's Leisure Industry Week, which takes place in Birmingham later this month

The 12 per cent market penetration figure gets bandied about, but how accurate is it? What figure could the sector reach and what does it have to do to achieve this?

Today's multi-faceted spas have important lessons to teach health clubs about the customer experience, says Liz Holmes

Even before we look to new audiences, there's so much more we can do to attract people who have already bought into exercise, says Kate Cracknell

Setting goals with members based on an understanding of their underlying motivations – their superordinate goals – is a vital to ensuring adherence, says Dr Paul Bedford