WORLDWIDE SURVEY REVEALS FITNESS TRENDS FOR 2010

R espondents to and readers of this survey must make the important distinction between a fad and a trend. A trend has been described as ‘‘a general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving’’ (http://dictionary.cambridge.org). It would totally be expected, then, to see the same trends appearing for multiple years in a trends survey. The definition of trend, after all, includes the phrase general development as opposed to ‘‘a fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period,’’ which is the definition of a fad (http://dictionary.reference.com). For the past 4 years, the editors of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal have developed and widely disseminated an electronic survey to determine trends in the health and fitness industry that might help guide health and fitness programming efforts for 2010 and beyond. The first survey (1) conducted in 2006 for 2007 trends was the initial effort to develop a systematic way to predict the future in the health and fitness industry. A second survey (2) followed for the year 2008, and then a third survey followed for 2009 (3). This fourth in a series of annual surveys of health and fitness trends in the commercial, clinical, community, and corporate sectors of the industry confirmed several of the trends revealed in previous surveys. Some of the trends first identified for 2007 have moved up and stayed in the top 10 in 2008 and 2009, whereas some new trends seem to be emerging for 2010. Because this is a survey of trends, and not fads, future surveys will either confirm these new trends or they will fall short of making an impact on the health and fitness industry and drop out of the survey. The ACSM annual worldwide survey of health and fitness trends is sometimes confused with estimating the potential impact of new equipment or some emerging exercise device on the bottom line in for-profit clubs. These results do not attempt to evaluate equipment, gear, tools, apparatus, or other paraphernalia that may suddenly appear at clubs or during late-night infomercials. The survey has been designed to confirm or to introduce trends (not fads) that have been sustained by having a proven impact on the industry. It is understandable that some of the trends revealed in earlier surveys would appear again (and perhaps for several years). It is as important for the health and fitness industry to pay attention to not only those new trends appearing for the first time, but also for those trends that do not appear this year or have been replaced on the list by other trends. Readers of this survey should consider taking this information and applying it to their own settings that may include commercial health clubs (for-profit), community settings (not-for-profit), corporate wellness programs, and medical fitness centers (clinical programs). The benefit to commercial health clubs is the establishment (or