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ISSUES: Fitness & Health
Chapter 3: Tackling physical inactivity
One in three people track health or fitness
Global marketing research firm GfK quizzed 4,900 people in 16 countries, but
users in the UK rank well below average.
By Elliot Mulley-Goodbarne
O
ne in three people monitor or track their health and
fitness via an online or mobile app, or via a fitness
band, clip or smartwatch.
This is according to a survey by global market research firm
GfK, which quizzed 4,900 Internet users in 16 countries who
currently track their health or fitness.
China leads the way with 45 per cent of the online population
monitoring health and fitness in this way, followed by Brazil
and the US (29 per cent), Germany (28 per cent) and France
(26 per cent).
In the UK, almost a fifth (19 per cent) said that they track their
well being using an online service while 16 per cent have
previously used online services but do not any more.
The survey also found that 21 per cent of the men and 18
per cent of the women who took the survey in the UK used
online apps or gadgets to track their fitness. Those statistics
are over ten per cent less than the global average in both
respective fields.
When asked why they monitor their health via online app
and gadgets, over half said they do so to maintain or improve
their fitness condition, with a similar number claiming these
apps and gadgets motivated them to exercise. Almost a
third said they wanted to lose weight and to have a better
night’s sleep.
Just eight per cent use health and fitness services to compete
with other people.
Broadening appeal
GfK global lead for wearables research Jan Wassmann said:
“These findings demonstrate the attraction that health and
fitness monitoring has within much wider groups than just
the obvious young sports players.
“Manufacturers and retailers can use these insights –
combined with our point-of-sales data on purchases of
wearable devices – to understand who are their real-life users
and why, and tailor their products to deepen that appeal.”
7 October 2016
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