Health Club Management January 2010

hafos
survey
fi g 5 main barriers to activity by age
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
© CLAIRET 5%
0%
OPLIS.COM
16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Disabilities Lack of transport
Direct costs are more of a barrier for women than for men Lack of personal Direct costs
motivation
Lack of time
Most people (62 per cent) say they want to be more encourage them would be to reduce fees/prices (62 per
active to “improve their general health”, but 28 per cent), followed by the provision of more information
cent say it’s more about body shape and tone. However, and a better range of facilities/equipment. In line with
motivation varies greatly by age and gender: older the comment above, however, less than 4 per cent of
people tend to take a more holistic approach – see the 65-plus age group stated that lower prices would
fi gure 4 – while women focus more on body shape and strongly encourage them to use the facilities.
appearance as a factor. The cost of being active is a particularly interesting
It’s important that operators realise why people want one, as many more people always say lower prices
to be more active, including acknowledging the differences would encourage them to use facilities, compared to
in motivating factors between different sub-groups of the the numbers who identify it as a barrier. Focus group
population. This understanding should inform not just work carried out by Leisure-net suggests that, for most
marketing and sales but also retention strategies. people, costs are not the key barrier, and certainly the
HAFOS survey backs this up for the older age groups.
BARRIERS TO ACTIVITY However, the long-term impact of initiatives such as
The main stated barrier to being more active continues to free swimming will be the ultimate test of this.
be time – or, rather, a lack of it (39 per cent) – followed
by direct costs (35 per cent), lack of transport (27 per EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
cent) and lack of personal motivation (25 per cent). Forty-six per cent of respondents believe the London
However, there were signifi cant variations in 2012 Olympics will encourage people generally to be
responses when analysed by age group. The importance more active, but only 22 per cent of those questioned
of time as a barrier decreases dramatically with age, as in this year’s survey said it would encourage them
does the importance of direct cost; disability/physical personally. Both these figures are down marginally on
impairment becomes the main barrier for those aged 65 last year. In addition, there are now more people saying
and older – see fi gure 5. Gender-wise, it’s interesting “no, it won’t affect me” compared to 12 months ago.
to note that women see lack of time and direct costs as However, the government’s healthy lifestyle initiative,
more of a barrier than men do. Change4Life, does appear to be making an impact, with
Respondents also listed a number of reasons for 51 per cent of the HAFOS sample in England saying they
not using their local leisure centre or health club (see had heard of it – interestingly, awareness in Scotland
fi gure 6). Nevertheless, 41 per cent of the sample was around half of that in England. Of those who had
were open to the idea of using these local facilities; heard of it, 75 per cent had seen the TV adverts, 20 per
the most signifi cant thing they felt could be done to cent had seen the posters and 13 per cent had received
information direct to their home. Of those who had
fi g 6 reasons for not using local leisure centre/health club been ‘touched’ by Change4Life, 21 per cent felt it had
impacted on their own or their family’s life – 69 per
Cost 23% cent said it had not, and 10 per cent were unsure.
No need 23% While the percentages aware of, and responding
Not enough time 15% positively to, Change4Life may seem small, they actually
Other 14% represent huge chunks of the population. These small
Location 10% changes to lifestyle by large numbers of people represent
No motivation 9% a big opportunity to the health and fi tness sector –
No information 2% particularly as the campaign expands its focus from
Poor/inadequate facilities 2% children and parents to encompass all adults in 2010.
Lack of interesting programmes 1%
mike hill is md of leisure-net solutions
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% healthclub@leisuremedia.com
54 Read Health Club Management online january 2010 © cybertrek 2010
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 | Page 11 | Page 12 | Page 13 | Page 14 | Page 15 | Page 16 | Page 17 | Page 18 | Page 19 | Page 20 | Page 21 | Page 22 | Page 23 | Page 24 | Page 25 | Page 26 | Page 27 | Page 28 | Page 29 | Page 30 | Page 31 | Page 32 | Page 33 | Page 34 | Page 35 | Page 36 | Page 37 | Page 38 | Page 39 | Page 40 | Page 41 | Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 44 | Page 45 | Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 48 | Page 49 | Page 50 | Page 51 | Page 52 | Page 53 | Page 54 | Page 55 | Page 56 | Page 57 | Page 58 | Page 59 | Page 60 | Page 61 | Page 62 | Page 63 | Page 64 | Page 65 | Page 66 | Page 67 | Page 68 | Page 69 | Page 70 | Page 71 | Page 72 | Page 73 | Page 74 | Page 75 | Page 76 | Page 77 | Page 78