We can't
keep our own fitness promises for the same reason that addicts are addicts and
Congress can't pass deficit reduction.
Every
January, millions of Americans, brimming with optimism and a little extra belly
from the holidays, commemorate the new year by making an unfamiliar urban trek.
They go to the gym.
One in
eight new members join their fitness club in January, and many gyms see a
traffic surge of 30 to 50 percent in the first few weeks of the year. Stop by
your local gym today, and the ellipticals will be flush with flush new faces.
But next thing you know, it will be April, our gym cards will be mocking us
from our wallets, and our tummies will have sprouted, on cue with the tree
buds.
Economists
make and break gym promises just like the rest of us. And, as they're
considerably more likely to run statistical regressions on their personal
lives, there's a healthy academic literature about going to the gym. Here's
what economics can teach us about fitness and the fitness industry.
