DARK SIDE OF FITNESS INDUSTRY

The dark side of the fitness industry

The fitness industry can be a very positive and beneficial industry that helps people improve their health and well-being. However, like any industry, there are also some negative aspects to be aware of. Some of the potential downsides of the fitness industry include:

1. Misinformation: There is a lot of conflicting and misleading information about fitness and health, which can make it difficult for people to know what to believe. Some sources may promote quick fixes or fad diets that are not backed by scientific evidence and can even be harmful.
2. Pressure to conform to certain standards: The media and societal pressure to have a certain body type can lead people to feel like they have to conform to certain standards in order to be fit or healthy. This can lead to unhealthy behaviors like over-exercising or disordered eating.
3. Exploitation: Some companies or individuals in the fitness industry may use manipulative marketing tactics to sell products or services, or they may take advantage of people's insecurities or desire to improve their health.
4. Financial burden: Some fitness programs or products can be expensive, which can make them financially out of reach for some people.

It's important to be aware of these potential downsides and to approach the fitness industry with a critical eye. It's also important to prioritize your own health and well-being and to find healthy, sustainable ways to incorporate physical activity and healthy habits into your life.?

• Around the world, influencers these days attract many people who have thick muscles and tremendous strength.
• ?If we look at only Hollywood actors, most of them are stars who maintain beautiful physiques by doing a significant amount of exercise and a thorough diet.
• ?Their images shown in the media have led many people to the gym. In addition, the number of young people who exercise and often express themselves through SNS is increasing.
• It is pretty positive from the perspective of society as a whole that the scale of the fitness industry grows while meeting people’s needs for health.?
• However, as always, there is contrast behind the bright side. For example, people who exercise as a hobby, that is, most people who work out and exercise simultaneously, cannot get as much exercise and rest as they want.
• ?In other words, it takes a lot of time and effort to get the body we want.
• There have always been people who want a shortcut in any field. For example, bodybuilders have chosen “anabolic steroids” and “male hormones” as a usual way to build large muscles quickly.?
• Their large, brittle muscles have formed a fanatic base, and they choose “anabolic steroids” without realizing the dangers of gaining muscle through steroids and growth hormones.

Fitness is a “Yes, and” industry. While other goods and services compete intensely for a finite number of consumer purchases, fitness consumers continue to use a widening array of services, tools, and solutions to help them look, feel, and function better

Research shows that the market for health and wellness products and services is growing by 5 to 10 percent per year, depending on the region.?

An even more fragmented market of complementary solutions is filling the white space around new movements, activity measurement, experiences, and more.

40 percent of the general population surveyed now consider wellness a top priority in daily life. The growing number of fitness choices—exact counts are difficult to find, but fitness-tech apps raised a record-breaking $2 billion from investors in 2020 —now seek to serve this need in increasingly diverse ways.

Fitness influencers hint at toxicity lurking beneath the flurry of positive affirmations.

Instagram's fitness culture does have a dark side — and experts in nutrition, weight loss, and disordered eating told INSIDER that the social network's endless stream of fitness imagery has the potential to be harmful.

Findings from Dr. Marika Tiggemann, a psychology professor at Australia's Flinders University, suggest that even briefly looking at Instagram has an immediate negative effect on self esteem.

Tiggemann studies how images of thin or fit bodies in the media — and on Instagram, specifically — can influence body image.

women who viewed a set of Instagram fitness images reported lower levels of body satisfaction than women who viewed a set of Instagram travel images.

Too often, there is an alarming disconnect between these images and the words that accompany them.

Instagram's fitness celebrities post lots of photos of themselves — photos of their whole bodies, their abs, their thighs, their behinds. After all, they are the creators of the exercise plans they sell. It only makes sense that their bodies provide living proof of the results.

Paradoxically, Instagram's fitness celebrities also urge their followers to never compare themselves to the people they see on Instagram.

?“Remember that your journey is YOUR journey and not anyone else's. Don't ever compare yourself to anyone else. Not the girl in the magazine, not the girl on Instagram, not your friends... not even me," - a fitness influencer wrote in the caption?

?The fact is that women are comparing themselves to these images. You can see it in comments on recent posts.

"Literally work out every day and no where near as fit looking as you."

"I wish I was so skinny PLZ HELP ME."

Some fitness stars don't just post images of their own bodies: They also share before-and-after photos of their own clients.

It's a punchy tactic — a testimonial that impacts followers more immediately than a rambling caption. But some experts argue before-and-after images like these are problematic because they put the focus on appearance, not on internal health.?

"Using before and after pictures for motivation puts the focus on appearance, not health," dietitian Rachael Hartley, RD, who specializes in disordered eating, told INSIDER. "While some people may have lost weight [...] as a side effect of truly health-promoting behaviors, others are very likely suffering from disordered eating or over-exercising, and we're glorifying it in these images."

Plus, "after" images can encapsulate only a single moment — and are often augmented by ideal lighting, posture, clothing, filters, and flexing.

"You're only seeing a certain instant into someone's life," Lego added. "You're either seeing, right after a workout when everyone is chiseled and hard, or right in the morning when you don't have any food in your stomach. You don't see the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of that person's day."

Just as bad, Hartley explained, is the implication that someone who looks like a "before" picture is somehow unhealthy or undesirable.

"There are many people who are physically healthy, active, and happy, who look like the 'before' pictures," she said. "Why should they change?"

Fitness influencers on social media send out messages under the guise of diet culture and disordered eating.?

Although their “fitspiration” content may have initially been an innocent attempt to inspire and motivate people to lead a healthier lifesyle, its unintended detrimental effect on both mental and physical health is becoming more apparent .

Displaying images of one’s body for public scrutiny frequently leads to an increased pressure to feel the need to maintain or obtain this desired body for both the influencer sharing the photos as well as those viewing them.?

The pursuit to maintain this fit, slender and toned body becomes a means of feeling validated, accepted and can be perceived as an expression of power .?

Unfortunately, research suggests this obsession with obtaining a certain physique contributes to detrimental effects on body image.?

Additionally, it increases the risk of developing disordered eating, compulsive exercise obsessions and eating disorders?

Many influencers, who offer fitness plans, diet plans and endless pictures that are photoshopped and “perfected,” set unrealistic standards about what we should strive for with our physical physique.

Many influencers, both male and female, enter this space with low self-worth, low self esteem and the way to validate their worth is by getting a dopamine hit from seeing thousands of likes and followers across their platforms.?

Essentially, their body is their way of seeking validation. Male fitness influencers may place greater emphasis on increasing their muscularity, whereas female influencers may seek a toned, slender yet defined physique

?CHRIS SHUGART – T NATION CCO

WHEN YOU KNOWINGLY BEGIN TO COMPROMISE YOUR HEALTH.

It's ironic, don't you think? You adopt a training or diet plan to lose fat, build muscle, get strong, or extend your life, then things go sideways and your fitness plan begins to wreck your fitness.

For dedicated folks, it's actually an easy trap to fall into. Some examples:

1. A fat loss diet turns into borderline anorexia. This is often associated with an obsession with scale weight. The desired outcome gets twisted: the goal becomes a smaller number on the scale instead of the sexy look of a healthy reflection in the mirror.
2. Your pursuit of abs leaves you looking like a malnourished meth addict. There's even something called "exercise induced bulimia." That's where the person doesn't purge by throwing up food, but instead tries to purge every calorie he or she eats through excess exercise, usually cardio. (Yeah, that ends badly.)
3. The obsessive pursuit of PRs leaves you busted up and unable to do real-life things, like walking up stairs or getting out of the car without psyching up first. Strength is awesome, but true 1RM attempts are largely unnecessary outside of a competition.
4. The pursuit of size leaves you fat or playing a reckless game with bodybuilding drugs.
5. A love of running leaves you beat up and constantly hurt instead of feeling good.
6. When a trendy diet starts doing you more harm than good. The key to this one is that you KNOW deep down it's not working for you anymore, but the idea of it is so compelling, so "scientifically backed," or is such an ego-inflating virtue signal that you can't give it up.

MARK DUGDALE – IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER

YOU KNOW YOU'VE TAKEN FITNESS TOO FAR WHEN IT KILLS YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.

That's the end result of a good thing becoming a "god" thing. What I mean is that something intended for good becomes an object of worship – a little "g" god or idol. You then sacrifice your time, talent, and treasure in worship and pursuit of pleasing your idol.

It's not a quick plunge to your detriment, but a gradual decline. Telltale signs exist along the path to fitness gone wrong. Things like the avoidance of blood work because you don't want to know if your insides are dying a slow death because, "Hey! I'm sporting a nice six pack and 20 inch arms!"

Or your social media accounts read like the picture storybooks of the world's greatest narcissist. You begin to obsess over likes and followers. You begin trading relational time for things like working a booth – for free – at a fitness expo under the justification that it provides "exposure." You're just marketing yourself anyway, right? (Wrong.)

Long-term thinking goes out the window for short-term gratification. And before you know it, those relationships you once valued vanish. The remaining common denominator is you and your physique idol. – Mark Dugdale

TONY GENTILCORE – STRENGTH COACH AND PERFORMANCE EXPERT

FITNESS IS A HARD WORD TO DEFINE, IF NOT ALTOGETHER MURKY AND UBIQUITOUS.

If you look up the definition of fitness the two most popular are:

1. The condition of being physically fit and active.
2. The quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task.

See what I mean? Those definitions can mean anything to anyone.

For some people, "fitness" means being able to squat or deadlift 3x bodyweight. For others it means having six-pack abs year round. I don't feel people's personal definitions of fitness deserve any belaboring. Truth be told, any time someone is doing something positive for their health and well-being it's a good thing.

But we all know the joke:

"How do you know someone is a vegan?"

Don't worry, they'll tell you.

Now, don't get me wrong: we can just as easily substitute "yogi, powerlifter, bodybuilder, CrossFitter, or early 90's Mariah Carey aficionado" in there as well. All are fine things to be into and, without any hesitation from me, make you a very cool person to hang around with.

However, I'm sure you get the gist and can commiserate: it's annoying when someone you know – friend, colleague, family member, significant other – turns something they're passionate about into something that defines them.

They're the person who refrains from social get-togethers or even vacations because the idea of missing or skipping a training session is apocalyptic. They're someone whose nutritional neurosis dictate they bring their own cooler of pre-packaged grass-fed beef and organic, unicorn tear filtered acai berries everywhere they go in lieu of having the audacity of enjoying a slice of pizza.

This isn't to disparage people who take their health and "fitness" more seriously. Anyone who reads this site recognizes there are innumerable day-to-day sacrifices we make to not be average.

But when said sacrifices come at the expense of deteriorating interpersonal relationships, exceedingly more and more incidences of negative self-talk, or even decreased self-worth for doing something off plan, fitness is no longer fitness. It's a problem. – Tony Gentilcore

?

synopsis

They claim to help people build fitter, stronger, healthier, more physically capable bodies.

Yet many gyms sell memberships hoping you’ll stay home. This way they can sell more memberships. Unqualified social media “influencers” charge hundreds of dollars for online personal training because they look good in a swimsuit. Supplement companies sell downright dangerous powders and pills and fat burners with no FDA oversight.

They claim to help people regain self-esteem and confidence in themselves.

Yet they show us images of unsustainable, genetically gifted, photoshopped “perfect” bodies to aspire to. Bodies that are often starved and malnourished. Bodies that are overworked. Bodies that YEARS to build. They play on our insecurities. Our self-consciousness. Our fears. They use these to manipulate our emotions and in turn, our buying behavior. And they have no hesitation in doing so.

This unattainable ideal sets a lot of people up for failure. It may even keep many people from pursuing healthy habits in the first place, instead opting for what’s easy and quick.

Rebecca Puhl, PhD, deputy director of the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity agrees: “This industry often focuses on appearance motivations for weight loss rather than health or important indices of health, like blood pressure, cholesterol, etc…And we also know from research on weight bias that when people feel stigma or shame about their body size, they are more likely to avoid physical activity or have lower motivation to engage in physical activity.”

“Instead, the messaging should focus on promoting healthy eating and exercise behaviors for all individuals, regardless of their body size or weight.”

They claim to help people learn and understand how to stay healthy and fit in the long haul.

Yet they assign timeframes to everything.

• “Join our 8-week FAT SHREDDING challenge!”
• “Couch to 5k in only 4 weeks!”
• “Build more muscle with our 6-week MUSCLE MANIA program!”
• “Lose 20 pounds in the first month or your MONEY BACK!”

They don’t care how you get the result, just that you get it. They don’t care about perpetuating unhealthy perceptions of body image. They don’t care that you’re now afraid to go near a carbohydrate. They don’t care that you mix and match multiple potentially harmful supplements. They don’t care that you’re purposing under-eating for lengthy stretches of time.

They don’t care.

The fitness industry is not in the business of empowering people to take care of themselves. They want us to need them. They need us to need them. After all, it’s us “regular people” who pay their bloated prices and provide them with precious likes, comments and validation on social media.

?

• This implicit darkness is causing new social problems in Asia, where the fitness industry is currently active.
• ?However, the more severe problem is that users perceive the risk low and produce more users due to the enormous effect of being distributed through illegal channels.
• A brief look at the case of the United States, the home of fitness, we can immediately understand the severity of the problem. As of 2004, 1,084,000 Americans (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017) said that they had already used anabolic steroids.?
• The more severe problem is that the age group that uses drugs raises their hands in the media-friendly teenage culture.
• In addition, as the fitness culture spreads in Asia, the problem is not just a problem in countries where fitness culture has pre-existed, such as the United States and Europe.
• ?This is because, to eradicate this drug publicly abused by the general public, laws in Asian countries, which are many latecomers in fitness, have to be amended.
• Unlike other sports, weight training is an exercise to develop strength and muscle, which is the basis of many exercises.
• ?It has been widely used to improve athletic performance, even for ordinary people who play baseball, soccer, football, and hockey.?
• In addition, there are teenagers in the growth phase or older people who have started weight training for healthy movement.

https://www.t-nation.com/alpha-life/bodybuilding-a-reality-check/

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/fitness-industry-statistics/- fitness industry stats?