We Are All Making Fitness Way Too Complex

There’s a simpler — and better — way

A recent report from the Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit focused on research in preventative health and wellness, found that Americans spent $264.6 billion dollars on physical activity in 2018, far more than any other nation. The United States leads the world in spending for every segment, including fitness classes ($37 billion), sports and recreation ($58 billion), apparel and footwear ($117 billion), equipment and supplies ($37.5 billion), mindful movement, such as yoga ($10 billion), and related technology ($8.1 billion).

And yet. And yet…

According to the academic journal The Lancet, for all of this spending, we rank 143rd globally for actual participation in physical activity. More than 40% of Americans fail to meet the global standard of 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity (for example, fast-paced walking or gardening) or 75 minutes per week of intense physical activity (for example, running or strength training).

This data largely mirrors what we know about health care. The U.S. spends, by far, the most money of any developed nation on health care per person but ranks toward the bottom (if not last) on common measures of actual health, such as chronic disease, life expectancy, infant mortality, disability…