Trend-watchers say the generation that once believed "never trust anyone over 30" is now well over 50 but still determined not to grow old.
"I think we could roll up the whole reasoning into just one phrase — quality of life — because the feedback we get is that people simply want to be active in their later years, and they now realize that being fit is one of the only ways to do that," says Dean Witherspoon, president of Health Enhancement Systems, which creates health programs for corporations and other organizations.
More and more fitness centers are doing everything they can to attract the Baby Boom Generation — and it's working, with folks over 50 making up the fastest-growing segment of the fitness population.
"For about the past 15 years, the Baby Boom fitness market has been slowly growing," says Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging. "But in the last several years it has really exploded, and it's exploded in many segments, including health club memberships." According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, older adults are hitting gyms and health clubs at a record rate. The group says the number of health club members over 55 grew by 343 percent from 1987 to 2003, while the number of members in the 35-54 age group increased by 180 percent.
Milner says that by 2012, "those numbers will increase even more dramatically. This is a market that is only going to grow more and more as time goes on."
Source: Colette Bouchez, WebMD, www.FoxNews.com November 28, 2005