A US survey into fitness trends for 2011 has emphasised the need for proper accreditation and certification in the health and fitness industry.

Conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the survey was distributed to ACSM-certified health and fitness professionals worldwide and was designed to reveal trends in various fitness environments.

More than 2,200 surveys were returned. Respondents were given the choice of 31 potential trends and the top 20 were ranked and published by ACSM.

The top 10 trends are: Educated and experienced fitness professionals; fitness programmes for older adults; strength training; children and obesity; personal training; core training; exercise and weight loss; boot camp and functional fitness.

Walter Thompson, a fellow of ACSM and a spokeperson for the ACSM American Fitness Index, said: "As the market in this sluggish economy becomes even more crowded and competitive, the need for regulation, either from within the industry or from external sources, is growing.

"For example, a number of states and the District of Columbia are considering legislation to regulate personal trainers just as it does physicians, lawyers and pharmacists."

The most surprising findings are the trends that have fallen off the list for 2011 - balance training, stability balls and Pilates. Pilates suffered the worst fall, disappearing after a ninth place ranking in 2010.

"It appears from this survey that Pilates may not have been a trend at all but may be considered a fad in the health and fitness industry," said Thompson. "Next year's survey will either embrace Pilates as a trend or will answer this question."

Photo: Pilates dropped out of the 2011 list, from ninth last year