Fitness industry costs public purse

About 700,000 New Zealanders belong to a gym. The fitness industry has been growing about 6.5 per cent per annum in recent years and is now worth about $500 million a year.

The growth appears to be fuelled at least partly by the spread of big-chain gym operators and the advent of innovations such as 24-hour workout facilities.

Hopefully, this all means that collectively we are getting fitter. Kiwis’ obesity statistics suggest otherwise.

And we are also now more likely to hurt ourselves while working out. The number of ACC claims for injuries suffered while at the gym or during fitness training have doubled in the past five years.

In the year to June, more than 51,000 people were injured while trying to keep fit. This compared with 47,000 injuries the previous year and just 24,000 five years earlier.

Hang-gliding has about 30 to 45 injuries a year, while bungee jumping has about 50. These industries have undoubtedly fewer participants, but, unlike gymnasiums, they are also heavily regulated and have rigorous riskmanagement systems in place.

Mountaineering is a dangerous sport. Last year, it led to 173 ACC claims, at a cost of $1.2 million.

That, however, pales into insignificance when compared with the cost of fitness-training injuries – $32.33m last year.

The number of gym injuries and the cost to ACC are rising far more rapidly than the growth in the fitness industry. The number of new claims in 2017 was 112 per cent higher than five years before and the cost rose 156 per cent in the same period.

By comparison, over the same five years, the total number of sports injuries rose only 16 per cent, to 460,000, and the cost increased 46 per cent, to $557m.

It has got to the point where the number of injuries in the gym is approaching those in rugby union, which is of course a full-body contact sport. In 2017, rugby accounted for 55,000 new ACC claims at a cost of $78.6m.

Exactly why the gym has become a more dangerous place is not exactly clear.

What is clear is that the industry is lightly controlled or regulated.

Anyone can call themselves a personal trainer in New Zealand. Although there are very good qualifications available, gym staff do not need to hold them.

Most gym operators will make sure their staff are on the register. This will usually require recognised qualifications at least at a certificate or diploma level.

Of course, people should take responsibility for their own safety. But, the very lucrative exercise industry also needs to ensure that their businesses are being run in a way that minimises harm to their customers. It is in everyone’s best interests to do so.

If they do not, the rising injury rates and the cost to the public purse may force the Government to step in and regulate.