International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences Vol. 8(6), pp. 308 - 320
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080602
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National Survey of Fitness Trends in Greece for 2021

Alexios Batrakoulis ^1,*, Athanasios Chatzinikolaou ², Athanasios Z. Jamurtas ¹, Ioannis G. Fatouros ^1
1 School of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece
² School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to identify the most important health/fitness trends while examining the impact of various demographics of respondents on the top trends for the first time in Greece. An online survey was sent to 3,487 professionals who worked in the health/fitness sector using the methodology of similar regional and worldwide studies extensively conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). A total of 542 responses were collected with a response rate of 15.5%. The ten most important trends were personal training, exercise is medicine, high-intensity interval training, small group training, and functional fitness, body weight training, exercise for weight loss, circuit training, strength training with free weights, and fitness programs for older adults. Health-related trends appear to be popular while technology- and mind/body-related trends seem not to be very attractive. Traditional exercise modes are still attractive and relevant, but specialized group training approaches are currently experiencing low popularity. Results also showed meaningful sex differences for 68% of the examined trends where female respondents reported higher scores. The main findings of this study are in line with those recently reported in the ACSM's European survey even though similar research design and data analysis are limited internationally.

KEYWORDS
Greek Fitness Survey, Fitness Sector, Trends, Top Programs, ACSM Survey

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Alexios Batrakoulis , Athanasios Chatzinikolaou , Athanasios Z. Jamurtas , Ioannis G. Fatouros , "National Survey of Fitness Trends in Greece for 2021," International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 308 - 320, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080602.

(b). APA Format:
Alexios Batrakoulis , Athanasios Chatzinikolaou , Athanasios Z. Jamurtas , Ioannis G. Fatouros (2020). National Survey of Fitness Trends in Greece for 2021. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 8(6), 308 - 320. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080602.