health predictions
Eloise Keightley, consultant P
ersuading the inactive to start exercising can be a challenge in itself, but ensuring that they continue to exercise is a much greater one. For
many people, once the novelty of engaging in a new activity has worn off, there is little incentive to keep going. An emerging trend towards the ‘gamification’ of fitness – that is, receiving rewards for achieving fitness milestones – is beginning to change this paradigm. Mobile and wristband technology are increasingly able to quantify
the extent to which consumers are achieving their fitness targets. This means that rewards can be distributed on the basis of measurable progress. Companies such as Switch2Health offer wearable technology to track individual fitness achievements and offer rewards such as deals from local businesses. Smartphone fitness apps are leading the way here – the Nexercise app, for example, offers medals, discounts and even free merchandise as rewards for physical activity. Consumers will increasingly become accustomed to this, and will
expect to receive tangible rewards for committing to a fitness regime – rewards that are unrelated to the physical gains inherent in regular exercise. Offering rewards reduces the emphasis on the exercise and increases the emphasis on the benefits, which means consumers who aren’t natural fitness buffs are less likely to see maintaining an exercise regime as a chore. Health club operators are in a strong position to offer small incentives to their customers and to partner with other businesses to deliver these benefits as part of their loyalty strategies.
Radha Patel, associate director
needs, to stemming the rise in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity, to addressing the needs of a rapidly ageing population. We are seeing an increasing focus on innovations that not only
I
meet functional and emotional needs, but that also deliver additional health and wellness benefits. The food industry is exploring a number of ingredients that may be used to improve the health credentials of their products – for example, seaweed can be used as a salt replacement and may also reduce the need for artificial additives, but also has the potential to positively impact heart health. Cars of the future will not only deliver enhanced safety and driving experiences but will also be re-engineered to meet the physical needs of an older population: the comfort of the in-car experience will be improved via new technologies such as air conditioning systems that dispense vitamin C into the car, stimulating people’s bodies to supply more moisture to the skin, making it appear younger and healthier rather than drying it out. Even office spaces are being redesigned to enable the integration
of physical fitness into daily work activities, in order to encourage workers to become healthier. These include workstations that are designed for the use of exercise balls instead of chairs, standing or treadmill workstations, anti-fatigue mats for employees to stand on while they work, ergonomic telephone headsets and keyboards. As our understanding and engagement with health and wellness
increases, we will be looking for innovative and well-designed wellbeing solutions that can be incorporated into every aspect of our lifestyles.
68 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital may 2012 © cybertrek 2012
t’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that we face a number of significant health challenges: from understanding and meeting our nutrition
Work spaces are being redesigned to ensure better health for employees
Mobile and wristband
technology is being used to offer fitness rewards
WARREN GOLDSWAIN /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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