Women's Fitness Franchises

With increasing numbers of people declared overweight and obese and the diet culture present among many women, including those that are not considered overweight, there are many franchise opportunities available in the women's fitness area.

According to the US National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 64.5% (127 million) of adults in the U.S. are overweight, 30.5% (60 million) are obese, and 4.7% (9 million) severely obese.

This is a significant growth from the 56 per cent of people overweight and 23 per cent obese recorded ten years earlier.

In terms of gender, the results are very even with almost 62 per cent of women overweight, an estimated 64.5 million people in America.

Unsurprisingly, this has led to major spending on diet products to try and cut down weight. This amount has been over $40 billion for a number of years and according to a new report from market analyst Datamonitor, this figure has been forecast to grow to $54 billion by 2009.

Taking these statistics together, it appears that dieting alone has not produced results for many people, so a large number are going to gyms and fitness centers to work off the pounds, with many of these franchised.

Within this sector, there are many facilities for women only, where they can do a series of aerobic and circuit training exercises and work with weights they are happy with at a speed they can work effectively to.

Also part of the appeal to women is that they are working out in a comfortable environment, as some women can feel intimidated around men doing exercises with them and other strong females, making them reluctant to work out to their maximum ability.

Therefore, many franchisees, who are mainly women, are taking advantage of this franchise business opportunity.

In this industry, franchising is a big advantage over starting an independent center, as a franchise will help to find the location and give franchisees most or all of the gear they require to attract women to the gym or center.

Not only are franchisees provided with the necessary fitness equipment, they also benefit from having in place a tailored fitness program for women that has proved to be successful elsewhere.

As increasing numbers of women are expected to gain weight in the future and with more women having a disposable income through working, women's fitness franchises are set to be very popular for a long time to come.