EuropeActive (formerly EHFA – European Health and Fitness Association) has set itself the ambitious goal of almost doubling the number of health club members in Europe by 2025 as the health and fitness industry representative seeks to strengthen its credentials as an antidote to the continent’s inactivity crisis.

The target was announced at the inaugural European Health and Fitness Forum in Cologne on 2 April, on the same day as a report was presented to the European Commission outlining the EU’s growing health issues and how the health and fitness sector can be a driving force in reversing them.

The report cited soaring obesity rates, dwindling levels of physical activity and mounting related health costs as the key imperatives for changing lifestyle patterns through exercise.

At present, the European fitness sector represents 46,500 facilities, with more than 46 million members.

To achieve the target of 80 million, European health club membership rates must grow by an average of five per cent per annum, and EHFA believes a concerted effort across countries and sectors is the only way to achieve this.

The report – The Future of Health & Fitness – A plan for getting Europe Active by 2025 – was created by 13 scientists and experts from seven countries.

It states that the fitness sector will have to build partnerships in unchartered territory and professionalise the sector to court new consumers, with embracing new digital technologies and innovation forming a key part of this.

Suppliers are also urged to take this tack by investing in R&D to meet operators needs, backed up by viable partnerships with universities and research institutes.

These same institutes are implored to conduct more research into why people refrain from exercise, while working alongside operators to develop greater training syllabuses for instructors.

The report calls on policymakers and governments to support the push by taking a preventative measure towards disease through investment in physical activity initiatives. There is also the suggestion of “a more tolerant” tax system towards health and fitness related products and services.

National associations are seen as “key actors” for achieving the target and are urged by the authors to continue establishing registers for fitness professionals and raising the standards of staff and facilities.

Finally, the recommendations for corporations to improve their employee wellness efforts include the the development of in-house health programmes, financial incentives for physical activity, healthier canteen nutrition and smoking cessation programmes.

The report concludes that the reasons behind physical inactivity are too complex to be solved by a simple “one size fits all” solution, thus requiring targeted promotion acknowledging the barriers to physical activity and working across sectors to overcome them.