50-plus fitness - fantasy or fact?

Fitness First, claims to be the largest gym, health and fitness club group in the world, has done a survey (8,000 respondents)

Over 93% of the over-50s claim to ate healthily, 84% said they were careful about alcohol consumption and three-quarters avoided additives in food. A total of 55% were content with their body shape and nearly four in five had a good work/life balance.

For the 18-29 year old group, 79% claimed they ate sensibly and 69% said they drank in moderation.

Surprisingly 62% were satisfied with their physique but just over two-thirds of this group were happy with work/life balance.

I tend to take all of these surveys with at large pinch of salt and I wouldn’t put too much store in the absolute numbers. But, I think it shows that there is a huge market for the health-aware sector of the 50-plus. The other explanation is that the over-50s are better liars, especially about their drinking habits! Dick Stroud