What do 1.8 million health & fitness members look like?
1.8 million live health and fitness members in the UK, the largest survey to date, have been profiled as part of the first ever National Audit of Fitness Consumers.
People from lower income groups take less exercise and are least likely to make use of publicly available health facilities such as gyms in leisure centres, according to the first comprehensive national audit of fitness participation in the UK, conducted by the Leisure Database Company and Experian®, the global information solutions company.
The audit shows that middle class families are eight times more likely to use publicly available health and fitness facilities than less affluent social groups. The absence of lower income groups in fitness participation is not a question of accessibility since the audit also reveals that some 99 per cent of the UK population is within a 20 minute drive time of a health club or leisure centre with a fitness facility.
Analysis at county level reveals that Mid and West Glamorgan, Avon, Cleveland and South Yorkshire have the lowest representation of lower income groups at publicly available fitness facilities. By contrast, Tayside, Clywd, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire have been most successful at attracting lower income groups to leisure and fitness centres. All the counties audited have shown a significant over-representation of higher income groups at public and private fitness facilities
Data has been collected from some 668 public and private leisure centres, health clubs and fitness centres. Experian’s Mosaic social classification was used to profile some 1.8 million users of public and private health facilities and identify which social groups are the most prevalent users of fitness facilities.
Robust Measurement and Monitoring of Participation
With an increasing need to establish robust measurement and monitoring systems for both current and potential fitness participation rates, Government and local authorities will gain an accurate picture of the level of physical activity across the UK population. The audit will establish industry benchmarks on participation which can be monitored annually for progress against targets.
Far Reaching Consequences
“The audit results have the potential to be far reaching.” said David Minton, Director of The Leisure Database Company. “The insight obtained into fitness participation will assist the Government and local authorities in a range of initiatives such as tackling obesity and targeting resources and communications to specific social groups. We now need to discover why people on lower incomes are largely absent from publicly available facilities and how to motivate people to do more exercise. The audit will also help to establish national industry benchmarks on fitness participation which can be monitored annually for progress against targets.”
Rosa Evans, Leisure Business Consultant, Experian, commented, “We have used our Mosaic people classification to identify levels of fitness participation by different social groups across the UK. This includes analysing the different types of people that regularly attend public and private health facilities by age, sex and social background. Clearly more needs to be done to encourage lower income families to participate in exercise, especially since these same groups, which include the highest number of heavy smokers, are more at risk of weight-related illnesses such as heart disease and type II diabetes.”
The research reveals that members of public gyms are most likely to be from mainly middle class Mosaic groups such as Suburban Comfort (17.2%) and Happy Families (15.4%). Suburban Comfort people tend to be married couples with older children. Hardworking, white collar workers, they live in comfortable homes in mature suburbs. They are self reliant independent people who plan for their retirement. The Happy Families group are younger, well educated with good career prospects. They have modern homes with internet, cable and Sky TV.
The audit of private health club members reveals, not surprisingly, a dominance of more affluent Mosaic Groups (Symbols of Success and Urban Intelligence respectfully) which make up 36% of all gym members. Symbols of Success are characterised as middle aged, successful people who hold rewarding careers in professional occupations. They earn high incomes and have high net worth. Urban intelligence people are young singles with no or few children. They tend to be well educated, professionals who are open minded with liberal views. They enjoy cosmopolitan tastes and cultural variety.
The findings will also prove valuable as business intelligence for health clubs and leisure centres wishing to identify and attract new members.
When looking at the membership of private health clubs the audit also reveals that there are slightly more female health club members, (53%) than male. Clubs are still attracting the younger markets over the older groups. Over three quarters of members are under 45 years old and almost half of all members are under 35 years old. Most members are financially high achievers with 36% earning over £30,000 and 20% earning over £40,000 per annum. Coupled with higher incomes health club members also have low financial stress levels. The majority of members, 61%, are employed full time whilst 25% are part-time employed or housewives. Over half, 56%, of all members are single and 66% have no children.
The National Audit of Fitness Consumers has provided us with greater insight into the health and fitness population and will provide the much needed benchmarks from which to monitor progress.
To gain an individual perspective from the audit, The Leisure Database Company is offering bespoke analysis of the data on request. These detailed customised reports can be set up to answer strategic and commercial questions based on particular perspectives. A free summary of the audit results is also available together with the opportunity to register interest in participating in the 2007 National Audit of Fitness Consumers. For more details call 020 7379 3197.
For more information please contact:
BRUNO ROST, Experian Press Office, Business Strategies division, Embankment House, Electric Avenue, Nottingham, NG80 1EH. Email: bruno.rost@uk.experian.com
DAVID MINTON, The Leisure Database Company, 33 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9EJ
Email:
david@theleisuredatabase.com
JENNY STANLEY, The Leisure Database Company, 33 Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9EJ
Email:
jenny@theleisuredatabase.com
This press release can be downloaded from http://press.experian.com
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Leisure Database Company and Experian® has collated member data across the health and fitness industry to benchmark participation in health and fitness. Using Experian's award winning people classification, Mosaic, a free customer profiling service was provided to all participating private fitness clubs and public leisure centres, designed to help them recruit new members and provide insight into better understanding existing customers.
To gain an individual perspective from the audit, The Leisure Database Company are offering bespoke analysis of the data on request. These detailed customised reports can be set up to answer strategic and commercial questions based on particular perspectives. A free summary of the audit results is also available together with the opportunity to register interest in participating in the 2007 National Audit of Fitness Consumers. For more details call 020 7379 3197.
2. About MOSAIC. MOSAIC has been developed by Experian and classifies the UK population into 11 main socio-economic groups and, within this, 61 different types. MOSAIC is used in the commercial sector to analyse potential and existing markets for products and services. It is also used extensively across the public sector for a wide variety of applications including identifying deprivation and tackling inequality, benchmarking and performance measurement, resource planning and targeting communications strategies. The Health Service uses MOSAIC to map and analyse vulnerability to a range of medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. For more information on MOSAIC go to www.business-strategies.co.uk
About The Leisure Database Company
As leading independent leisure market analysts, The Leisure Database Company, have been focused on providing quality leisure intelligence for over 20 years. Our leisure databases power the Active Places public access website for Sport England, www.activeplaces.com
Working with 40 of the top 50 UK health and fitness brands, we provide and analyse consumer and membership data alongside demographics for strategic decision making.
The Leisure Database Company is the one source for leisure market intelligence and have been appointed the official data suppliers to the FIA and BISL. Annually we audit and report for the FIA’s State of the UK Fitness Industry, due to be published at the end of September 06. We also now have national benchmarking statistics for fitness participation from the 2006 National Audit of Fitness Consumers.
About Experian
Experian is a global leader in providing value-added information solutions to organisations and consumers.
Experian provides information, analytics, decision-making solutions and processing services. Using its comprehensive understanding of individuals, markets and economies, it helps organisations to find, develop and manage customer relationships to make their businesses more profitable.
Experian promotes greater financial health and opportunity among consumers by enabling them to understand, manage and protect their personal information, helping them control financial aspects of key life events and make the most advantageous financial decisions.
Experian works with clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, retail and catalogue, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, e-commerce, property and government. A subsidiary of GUS plc with headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, California, more than 12,500 people in 28 countries worldwide support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales are in excess of £1.7 billion.
For more information, visit the company's website on www.experian.com
The word 'Experian' is a registered trademark in the EU and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd and/or its associated companies.