The North American health and fitness industry is performing well, despite a rocky US economy, a new survey by IHRSA reveals.

The total number of health and sports clubs in the United States grew by just over 2% during the first half of 2002, with the 244 clubs surveyed reporting a profitable year in 2001 and an average growth of 5.8%.

Consumer demand has grown by 3% to 33.8 million members as of January 2002, despite the US economy showing consumer spending down, giving clear indications that Americans are still using their disposable income to join health clubs.

Analysts from French bank BNP Paribas claim the reason why the health club industry continues to perform well - outperforming other sectors - is its ability to change and improve its product and the fact that consumers now view a health club membership as a need rather than a luxury.

IHRSA attributes the industry's growth and profitability to Americans' concerns over stress and serious health risks associated with weight gain.

'Millions of Americans have turned to their health club and exercise as a means of dealing with the stress they experience in their daily lives' says John McCarthy, IHRSA's Executive Director.

'No other exercise venue offers the combination of fun, camaraderie, supervision and instruction with a variety of facilities, programmes and equipment that a health club does.'