A new generation of health and fitness
Do you find your health and fitness being led by digital media and technology?
Our health and fitness will always be important. It is the lifestyle we choose. It affects our capabilities of meeting the demands of the environment. Advancements in technology and digital media are transforming the health and fitness industry. Increased precision and access to opportunities has facilitated the growth in interest. The UK has the second largest number of gym memberships in Europe. Just previous of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK market size of the fitness club industry grew past the 2 billion GBP.
COVID-19 lockdown made people conscious of their lifestyle, escalating the pace of transformation within the sector. The English government allowing citizens to exercise once a day led to exercise becoming a main focus and priority for millions. The fitness industry went online and thrived. The highest growth of exercise related Google searches in 2020 all related to equipment and classes. Opportunities arose for personal trainers (PTs) as digital media increased their customer base as their pool of potential clients rose. Social media helped PTs brand their services through demonstrating clients successes.
Social platforms increase efficiency of fitness marketing. The right message is getting to the right people at the right time…and more people than ever! This is allowing correct information to be shared among society, educating on how to feel better in our own skin promoting body positivity making the sector inclusive for all. Online communities have emerged from social networking. These groups are positive places for motivation and education making everybody welcome into the health and fitness industry as it has become easier to find relatable people. YouTube and Instagram allow PTs to run sessions for larger audiences compared to what would be possible in a gym studio. Also, workouts can be archived so people can assess them when convenient granting a more flexible approach to people’s fitness regimes.
Fitness marketing has a negative side. Digital media is exploiting the promotional opportunities which can lead to physiological damages due to false or miss information. Fad diets to unsustainable challenges can be damaging to wider society. Eating 1200 calories should not be promoted or getting a six pack in 30 days is just unrealistic. The problem with influencing is that it influences the behaviour of those vulnerable to the topic. Eating disorders are occurring due to social media pressures to look a certain way. From this females are loosing their menstrual cycle due to the body not having enough energy to survive, the most downloaded health and fitness related app in GB in 2020 was a period tracker.
Fitness technology allows more accuracy than ever as watches now even telling us our blood oxygen levels. Training efficiency is increased as heart rate monitors allow an individual to train in the right heart rate zone to improve the element of their fitness that is desired. Aside from fitness, the health benefits include long-term cardiac monitoring to reveal atrial fibrillation and prevent cryptogenic stroke. However, the sector does face the challenge of data breaches.
Is technology making us obsess over quantifying fitness rather than participating for enjoyment? I’ve heard people say exercise doesn’t count if its not tracked!
Don’t have a fitness watch? no worries as innovative gym equipment can track your workout. The opportunity of increased accuracy and monitoring to reach fitness goals more efficiently has been exploited by brand such as Peloton. Looking at a Peloton bike, they have integrated technology exploiting all possible opportunities of increase engagement, vital in a competitive market. A 23.8" screen, Apple Watch synching, app, on-demand workouts, Peloton community, speakers, and auto-follow resistance…it is a showcase of how technology can be incorporated into the sector allowing the stimulation of environments.
‘Abs are made in the kitchen’…heard that before? Nutrition is a key element for the functioning of the human body. The sector has the opportunity of raising nutritional value awareness, knowledge of healthier alternatives, and recipes. The internet allows millions of recipes to be found in seconds, making cooking at home a little easier. Video streaming allows follow along cooking recipes via pre-recorded demonstrations. Social media platforms add creativity into cooking at home and have created cooking trends e.g. Weetabix cheesecake. Calorie counting websites accuracy has increased as technology allows you to scan barcodes or even scan a meal which guestimates how many calories are in a meal. Technology has increased trust in its accuracy, increasing engagement.
Fad diets, labelling foods as ‘bad’, and calorie counting can create unhealthy relationships with food. Many report food anxiety, purposefully missing out on social occasions as fear going off track with calorie counting. Bedsides calorie counting, technology has increase the availability and ease of takeaway food, increasing temptations of unhealthy options. This can pose a challenge for the sector as urban areas face obesity crisis due to larger access to takeout food.
People are more educated on nutrition and the effects of nutrient deficits. Technology has allowed a scientific approach as precision of supplements aids health and performance. Vitamins which many find hard to reach their daily requirements are available, and due to demand the price has become competitive with natural forms in supermarket products. However testing on some products can appear better than they are, common with protein powders, posing ethical questions within the sector.
As we see the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic coming into place, inflation causes many questions regarding the economic forecast. As the price of living rises, will our health and fitness be compromised as people are forced to opt for cheaper food sources (typically more processed foods) and/or cancel membership payments to participate in physical activity? But did COVID-19 show us we just need time and space? Technology could play a huge part in keeping people fit with cheaper alternatives through online coaches and access to free online workouts.
