Membership of gyms grows explosively
The number of people who work out at a gymnasium rose by 47 percent during the past year. The 1700 sports schools in the Netherlands enrolled 800,000 new members.
The Netherlands now has 2.5 million keep-fitters. This makes working out (cardio and power training) the most frequently practiced sport. In second place comes swimming, followed by walking and cycling, as shown by a survey carried out by GfK on behalf of the worldwide fitness organisation IHRSA and the Dutch branch association Fit!vak.
The explosive increase in the number of health club members is the result of the growing attention paid to health in general and overweight in particular. Besides this, sports schools are lowering the threshold for joining, and offering attractive subscriptions with more flexibility, Ronald Wouters of Fit!vak explained yesterday.
The percentage of Dutch people who work out is now as high as in America: 15.5 percent. This is also the highest percentage in Europe, the branch organisation claimed. Gymnasiums do have many inactive members, though, who have a subscription, but rarely if ever actually work out.
Source: NIS News, ANP, 29 March 2006
