New Year Resolution Myth Exposed

New research from the UK's health and fitness trade body the FIA, concludes that a New Year's resolution to join a gym will last well beyond the following New Year.

In a survey of over 200,000 inactive people who were invited to exercise, almost half (45%) made a commitment to sustain their healthy lifestyle beyond the six week trial. Separate research found that almost 85% of new gym users retained their membership for at least 6 months and over 65% for over 12 months.

The FIA research also lays to rest the popularly held view that new membership peaks in January - just over 10% of the industry's total new members join in January. In fact, the most popular month to join a gym is September.

"The fact that January is not the most popular month to join the gym is neither here or there. What is important is that 10% of new joiners are motivated enough to do something about developing a healthy life style and they do it in January" said David Stalker of the FIA.

"Of course the gym is not for everyone but what we do know is that almost 70% of people who start using a gym are still members over 12 months later. So if we can help the 45% of the inactive people in this country, then think of the benefits and impact we could have on the nation's health, the taxpayer's NHS bill and, more importantly, on every inactive person's life and that of their families."