FIBO week got underway in Cologne, Germany, this morning (8 April) with the start of the one-day 2nd European Health & Fitness Forum (EHFF).

EHFF is the precursor to FIBO - the physical activity sector’s largest trade show - which is expected to draw 130,000 visitors when it runs this week from 9-12 April. Led by trade body EuropeActive, EHFF gathers around 300 industry thought leaders to explore the future of the physical activity sector through an array of presentations, keynotes and panel discussions.

EuropeActive board member and former executive director Herman Rutgers got proceedings underway with an introductory speech. He said the theme of EHFF 2015 would be ‘Motivation and Behavioural Change’.

“There is lots of information and studies to show the benefits of physical activity, yet we know that 50 per cent of people drop out of exercise programmes within six months of starting them,” said Rutgers.

“What we need to establish is a well-balanced motivational behavioural cocktail to keep people eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. We need to find the solution and this is key to reaching our goal of 80 million European health club members by 2025.”

Presenters due to take the stage at today’s event include Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute MD Bobby Duffy; Fitbit VP for EMEA Gareth Jones; marketing guru Bryan O’Rourke; and behavioural change specialist Professor Ap Dijksterhuis.

The forum will also see the official launch of the EuropeActive/ Deloitte European Health & Fitness Market Report 2014, presented by Karsten Hollasch - corporate finance partner at Deloitte Düsseldorf.

Health Club Management will be on hand throughout FIBO 2015, live reporting on the latest developments throughout the conference and posting them straight to the Health Club Management website. Head of news Jak Phillips will also be live-tweeting from the event, follow him on Twitter by clicking here.