Latest research from Mintel says the British health and fitness sector can look forward to continued expansion but operators will have to work hard to retain and encourage membership.

The Brits Get Fit report says there are now an estimated 3.8 million members of private health and fitness clubs in Britain, more than twice as many as there were 10 years ago and over a million more than last year.

Continued expansion of the industry is most likely due to the deterioration of the nation’s health, says Mintel, with a “high proportion” of the population classified as obese or overweight. Research indicates that last year one in five men and one in four women were obese.

The report also indicates that the daily drinking of alcohol and smoking is on the increase but “the British are sitting up and taking note”, saying a third of all adults in the UK are now trying to lose weight and as general attitudes towards health and fitness change, the number of private club members has risen.

The number of people Mintel categorises as fit – those who see it as important to keep their body in shape by eating properly and doing exercise, has risen from one in four in 1995 to one in three in 2002. “On the other hand, the number of ‘slobs’, who think that too much attention is paid to keeping fit nowadays, has remained static over the same period of time,” says the report.

Mark Brechin, senior leisure analyst at Mintel says the results reflect the fact that more and more people are taking an active interest in their well being and becoming increasingly aware of “the benefits of regular exercise and healthy eating”.

The report says the main reason people attend health and fitness clubs is to “get toned”. Medical conditions and aiming to lose weight are the second and third most popular reasons respectively for using a club.

However, a leading complaint made against clubs is the expense, says Mintel: In 2002, over two in five adults felt that membership fees were over priced and just one in six see the joining fee as a incentive to keep using the club.”

Over the past decade, the increase in clubs – from just 1990 private clubs in 1993 to some 2,850 this year, has increased competition. Mintel says one in three clubs have now waived their joining fee altogether. This is “a step in the right direction”, says Brechin.

However, operators often claw back lost profits by raising their membership fees. Research shows that since 2001 the number of clubs with membership fees below £500 a year has decreased, while those with higher fees have increased.

Brechin says potential demand represents a “real opportunity” for operators. One in five adults now use a private or local authority health and fitness club and last year twice as many adults were actually members as would like to become a member.

Mintel forecasts that the number of clubs is set to increase to over 3,300 by 2007 with a comparable rise in membership of an estimated 5.75million people. But “competition in the market is likely to become stronger,” says Brechin. Details: www.mintel.com