4 ms·

> It found that over the past four decades, the average age-corrected male BMI rose to 24.2 from 21.7, and in women rose to 24.4 from 22.1. Could this be due t

by cJ0th 10y ago

> It found that over the past four decades, the average age-corrected male BMI rose to 24.2 from 21.7, and in women rose to 24.4 from 22.1. Could this be due to an increase in people going to the gym? A bmi of 24.x is still < 30 and not unhealthy. Therefore, I wonder whether we see two different things here: 1.) More people become obese (those with an bmi > 30 [and even there could be some corner cases due to the fact that bmi is by no means a perfect measure]) and 2.) more people lift weights/become (somewhat) healthier.

ghshephard 10y ago
The number of people (A) going to the gym, (B) doing resistance exercise to build up lean body mass, and (C) doing so on a regular enough basis to make a difference - is round off error. The entire reason why Gyms are so profitable, is an insignificant number of people who sign up, actually ever go.
- omegaham 10y ago
  Incidentally, this is why serious gyms, which are built for powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, strongmen, and similarly dedicated athletes, charge a lot more money. When you get a membership at a 24-Hour Fitness for $30 per month, you're being subsidized by all the resolutioners who buy a membership and never show up. Meanwhile, powerlifting gyms cater exclusively to the people who will show up 5 days a week, every week. You don't have that massive pool of resolutioners to provide effort-free cash, so you have to charge more money. Of course, on the other end is Planet Fitness, which specifically caters to the specific demographics who don't show up and actively discourages the people who will show up 5 days a week. Brilliant strategy. This is also why every lifter bitches about the lack of squat racks, cramped lifting spaces, and fuckstick trainers at corporate gyms. They are often a net negative for the gym, so the gym doesn't care about them; the folks who occasionally show up and do 20 minutes on the elliptical are where the money is.
  - ghshephard 10y ago
    This, in a nutshell, was why I was so ecstatic about the $20/month membership at Powerhouse Gym (with a $150 sign up fee) downtown Redwood City, CA. Perfect location, not one, but two squat racks that were rarely used. Shoulder press rack. They didn't get on your case if you dropped your deadlift and smack chalk all over the place, and had towel service and really decent showers. I didn't realize, until I visited many, many other cities - that finding a gym that you can do your squats/deadlift/shoulder press three times a week for $20, is pretty much unheard of. I sometimes even see it advertised for $17 (presumably with a slightly higher sign up fee) - This is really clever - if you've already invested, say, $200, and you have this pretty cool downtown gym, and it's only $17/month - why on earth would you ever cancel...
- elcapitan 10y ago
  > The entire reason why Gyms are so profitable, is an insignificant number of people who sign up, actually ever go. Increase in average BMI and increase in gym revenue/creation of new gyms are probably even directly correlated via bad conscience customers who sign up and then stay home.

by cJ0th 10y ago

ghshephard 10y ago

The number of people (A) going to the gym, (B) doing resistance exercise to build up lean body mass, and (C) doing so on a regular enough basis to make a difference - is round off error. The entire reason why Gyms are so profitable, is an insignificant number of people who sign up, actually ever go.

omegaham 10y ago
Incidentally, this is why serious gyms, which are built for powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, strongmen, and similarly dedicated athletes, charge a lot more money. When you get a membership at a 24-Hour Fitness for $30 per month, you're being subsidized by all the resolutioners who buy a membership and never show up. Meanwhile, powerlifting gyms cater exclusively to the people who will show up 5 days a week, every week. You don't have that massive pool of resolutioners to provide effort-free cash, so you have to charge more money. Of course, on the other end is Planet Fitness, which specifically caters to the specific demographics who don't show up and actively discourages the people who will show up 5 days a week. Brilliant strategy. This is also why every lifter bitches about the lack of squat racks, cramped lifting spaces, and fuckstick trainers at corporate gyms. They are often a net negative for the gym, so the gym doesn't care about them; the folks who occasionally show up and do 20 minutes on the elliptical are where the money is.
- ghshephard 10y ago
  This, in a nutshell, was why I was so ecstatic about the $20/month membership at Powerhouse Gym (with a $150 sign up fee) downtown Redwood City, CA. Perfect location, not one, but two squat racks that were rarely used. Shoulder press rack. They didn't get on your case if you dropped your deadlift and smack chalk all over the place, and had towel service and really decent showers. I didn't realize, until I visited many, many other cities - that finding a gym that you can do your squats/deadlift/shoulder press three times a week for $20, is pretty much unheard of. I sometimes even see it advertised for $17 (presumably with a slightly higher sign up fee) - This is really clever - if you've already invested, say, $200, and you have this pretty cool downtown gym, and it's only $17/month - why on earth would you ever cancel...
elcapitan 10y ago
> The entire reason why Gyms are so profitable, is an insignificant number of people who sign up, actually ever go. Increase in average BMI and increase in gym revenue/creation of new gyms are probably even directly correlated via bad conscience customers who sign up and then stay home.