Fallout from the ongoing pandemic and changes in consumer attitudes are driving the sector and governments in the same direction. Now’s the time to link them up

Welcome to this third edition of the HCM Year in Review, we hope you find it a useful resource and a comprehensive record of these times when our industry has been challenged from every direction, driving it to mature and crystallise its purpose.

If 2020 and 2021 highlighted the need for better data about the value of the sector, then 2022 was the year this evidence really started to roll in. Deloitte China and the Global Health and Fitness Alliance delivered their report, Economic health and societal wellbeing: quantifying the impact of the global health and fitness sector, showing in detail the impact of the sector on GDP and healthcare systems around the world. This identified a total value of up to US$91.22bn per annum*.

Hard on the heels of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its Global Status Report on Physical Activity 2022 which revealed the shocking impact of sedentary behaviour on health outcomes.

WHO found US$27bn a year in public healthcare costs – or US$300bn by 2030 – could be saved globally by increasing participation in physical activity. In turn this would prevent 500m cases of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions by 2030.

Working with Europe Active, HCM interviewed Dr Fiona Bull, head of the physical activity unit at the WHO and the driving force behind this research, who called on the industry to commit to its inclusivity approaches – in terms of both consumers and staff – and encouraged the sector to work at shaping government policy on physical activity.

The Global Wellness Institute stepped up to contribute to this debate, issuing Defining Wellness Policy, a new report looking at ways of filling gaps in current public health policy, while also addressing failures in sick-care-focused medical systems.

Crises in healthcare provision, exacerbated by excess demand due to the pandemic, financial pressures and ageing populations, are driving changes in consumer behaviour. Where once some took the view they could live how they liked and their healthcare service would sort out any lifestyle diseases they developed, they’re now recognising help may no longer be forthcoming and it’s in their best interests to take more personal responsibility.

This impulse must be met with more effective government policy and support to enable a transition to a prevention-based system where health services and providers of physical activity work together to support people from all social groups and of all ages to be more effective guardians of their own wellbeing.