More important in recent years is that the cost of burning those calories has surged as work has become more sedentary. If you wanted an income, you engaged in manual labor. Today you pay to exercise, not so much in money, but in forgone leisure time. So if you want to spend time with your kids, you have a choice between that and going to the gym or running. To burn a lot of calories, Americans have to give up doing other valuable things.
Exercise is no longer something free that comes along with making a living.
That's good news for the people in the health club business. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association reports record numbers of members and rising participation. But the nation's 31 million health club members account for just over 10 percent of the population. And only 40 percent of those go to the gym at least twice a week, a rising percentage but still a small one. We didn't used to have people going out jogging or going to the gym after work because they got it at work.