Publications

This report is FREE for HFA club, studio and industry partner members and $299 for non-members.

The 2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report: Expanded Insights builds on the findings from Headline Trends to provide a detailed examination of how Americans use fitness facilities, including the equipment they choose, the activities they engage in, and how behaviors vary across gender, age, income, and ethnicity.

This second volume in HFA’s annual consumer research series offers an in-depth view of the fitness experience inside US facilities, revealing how usage patterns, participation habits, and service preferences are evolving across the industry.

What’s Inside:

• Attendance and engagement differences by facility type, including fitness-only, multipurpose, studios and studio sub-type, non-profit, corporate, and fitness-as-an-ammenity.
• Comparative analysis of fees, attendance frequency, and membership tenure.
• How demographics, including age, gender, income, and race/ethnicity, shape fitness facility engagement.
• Participation in fitness activities and programs, including personal and small group training.
• Equipment usage patterns among fitness facility members, by type and demographic group.
• Insights operators can use to strengthen engagement, retention, and program design.

A Deeper Perspective

Expanded Insights is the second installment in HFA’s new two-part annual reporting framework. While Headline Trends captured the overarching membership and participation growth that defined 2024, this volume goes further—analyzing how members actually engage with facilities once inside.

Together, these reports form the most comprehensive picture to date of the American fitness consumer, helping operators, suppliers, investors, and policymakers understand not only how many people use fitness facilities—but how they use them.

Methodology and Partners

Drawing from a nationally representative sample of 18,000 Americans aged 6 and older, the research provides a detailed snapshot of fitness consumer behaviors and trends from the past year.

The data was collected by Sports Marketing Surveys USA (SMS), a Buffalo Groupe company, as part of its ongoing collaboration with the Physical Activity Council (PAC)—a coalition of eight leading US trade associations focused on sports and active lifestyles.

HFA extends its sincere thanks to SMS and all PAC partners for their continued efforts in advancing industry research.