Fat or fiction? Faking body image in the media

by Ryan Hogan | Sunday, December 20, 2009

While reading the New York Times Health and Fitness Blog recently, I came across a post by Tara Parker-Pope that really caught my eye, entitled ‘Losing Weight by Photoshop’. The title obviously speaks for itself, and after reading the very well written piece, it reinforced to me how many people in our industry – and of course, how many of our clients and customers – have a negative perception of their body image.  ...read more

Obesity-combating smart-card proposed – but wouldn’t an exercise incentive be more effective?

by Ryan Hogan | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The following post is written by guest author Paul Richards, CEO of Club Physical in New Zealand.

Thinking positively, I would firstly like to congratulate the NZ Ministry of Health for even considering incentivising people to purchase healthy food in a bid to combat obesity. This is a step in the right direction, but I imagine it would only impact people to a minor degree and not have the desired outcome of improving people’s lifestyle habits enough to reduce obesity.  ...read more

Fitness Industry Trends to Watch Out for 2010 and beyond

by Ryan Hogan | Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Recently myself and a colleague, Amy Bird, were lucky enough to head over to America to a couple of international fitness conventions to get a feel for what is happening overseas in the wide world of fitness. Certainly an eye opening experience, Amy and I identified the following 4 BIG global trends to watch out for, some of which have already hit OZ and some that are sure to come soon:   ...read more