International Comparisons: ACSM’s Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends

Abstract

Summary StatementPulled Text: Through the translation and utilization of the ACSM fitness trend survey, both China and Spain were able to investigate similarities and differences as well as identify local fitness industry trends. We encourage Spain, China, and other countries to continue to study the ACSM fitness trends annually and look forward to learning about trends in years to come. High-intensity interval training was identified as the #2 trend in United States and Spain, but not for China where it ranked #39. Exercise programs focused on youth and childhood obesity were ranked highly as a trend in both Spain (#15) and China (#14) compared with the U.S. survey, which ranked this trend as #31. Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals seem to be an important trend as it was ranked in the top 10 for Spain (#1), United States (#6), and China (#9). Body weight training ranked #5 for United States and #4 for both China and Spain, suggesting this trend to be strongly associated in the fitness sector in these countries. Interestingly, walking and jogging were identified as trend #10 for China but were not found to be a trend in either of the other surveys. Apply It! From this article, the reader should understand the following concepts: