Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter introduces the world of health and fitness, a dynamic billion dollar global industry that has been around for many more years than people realise. It introduces the history of the industry, the value and consumption of health and fitness, defines physical activity with discussion on the role of physical activity in society, and finally an understanding of what marketing and sport marketing is. The aim of this chapter is to give a broad understanding of the different components within the health and fitness industry which link to subsequent chapters in the book.

The health and fitness market is valuable industry across the world; in the United Kingdom, 34,394 people work within the sector, and at the time of writing this chapter, the Gym and Fitness industry was predicted to have an annual revenue of £1.9bn in 2024 (IBIS World, 2023).