30+ Interesting Fitness Statistics in India

Ponder on this.

Between Q1 and Q2 2020, health and fitness app downloads rose by 46% globally.

And guess which country topped this list? INDIA!

India had the maximum increase in downloads – a whopping 157%. 

To put that in perspective, that’s around 58 million new active users! All thanks to India being locked down from March to May 2020 which forced our huge population to stay indoors.

All this shows how much of a drastic impact the pandemic has had on our lives. From setting up home gyms and signing up for virtual fitness classes, to investing in wearables, Indians are going all out to stay fit and healthy.

Ready to know more amazing fitness stats about India?

Keep reading…

Global fitness statistics: 2020-2030

Health and Fitness club market

1. The market value of the health and fitness club industry was USD 81 billion in 2020. 
2. It is projected to have a CAGR of 7.21% from 2021 to 2026, with the Asia Pacific region growing at the highest CAGR.
3. This industry is estimated to be worth around USD 96.6 billion, by 2024.

Home fitness equipment market

1. The market value of the home fitness equipment industry was USD 13,741.23 million in 2021.
2. It is projected to record a CAGR of 2.75% from 2022 to 2027, with the Asia Pacific region growing at the highest CAGR.

Health and fitness app market

1. In 2021, the global fitness app market size was valued at USD 1.1 billion. 
2. The fitness app market size value is estimated to hit USD 1.3 billion in 2022.
3. This market is projected to have a CAGR of 17.6% from 2022 to 2030.
4. Compared to Q1 2020, the Daily Active Users (DAUs) of fitness apps have increased by 24.0% in Q2.
5. Health and fitness app downloads rose by 46% globally, between Q1 and Q2 2020. This has been mainly because of the rising trend of online fitness training and also the increased awareness surrounding fitness and mental well-being.

Here’s a graph showing the region-wise download growth, representing 1.5 billion mobile app users (as per data from MoEngage).

 

 

eServices Fitness apps market

1. The online revenue of the eServices fitness apps segment is projected to be USD 5273.5 million globally, by 2024.

This market comprises 2 categories: 

• Wearables – This includes wristwear, smart clothes, and eyewear.
• Apps – These include fitness and nutrition apps e.g. calorie counters, nutrition diaries, and apps for detecting /tracking/ analyzing and sharing vitality and fitness achievements.

India fitness statistics 2020-2026

Health & fitness market

1. The total revenue in this industry is estimated to touch USD 46.62 million in 2022.
2. The total revenue is projected to have a CAGR of 6.14% from 2022 to 2026. This would result in an estimated market volume of USD 59.17 million by 2026.
3. The number of downloads in this segment is expected to reach 293.4m downloads in 2022.

 Digital fitness & Well-being devices segment

1. The total revenue in this segment is predicted to reach USD 3919 million in 2022.
2. The total revenue is projected to have a CAGR of 27.33% from 2022 to 2026. This would result in an estimated market volume of USD 10300 million by 2026.

 Home fitness equipment market

1. The home fitness equipment market grew from Rs 329 crore in FY19 to Rs 570 crore in FY21 (as per Grand View Research). 
2. This market is projected to register a CAGR of 10.7% till FY25.
3. 55% of the revenue for FY21 came from online sales, up from 45% in FY20.
4. Since June 2020, this growth has been led by equipment such as treadmills, exercise bikes, and dumbbell sets.

Wearable market

1. The Indian wearable market grew 170.3% year over year in Q1 2021. This was because more people began monitoring their heart rates, calorie intakes, sleep cycles, and daily water usage.

 

How Indians exercise – The stats

As per a recent study, where 12000 adults were surveyed:

• 4 out of every 10 Indian adults aged 18 to 69 are physically inactive! That translates to 41.3% of Indian adults who are not engaging in the WHO recommended level of PA (physical activity) {150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week.}
• Women were found to be more inactive than men. 52.4% of women indicated not doing enough PA, compared to 30.9% of men. This low level of PA was attributed to various factors including cultural norms, perception, inadequate time, and motivation.
• 51.7% of urban residents did insufficient PA versus 36.1% of rural inhabitants.
• 48.8% of homemakers confessed to not engaging in enough PA.
• One-third of adults with insufficient PA were overweight and had high blood pressure.
• Rural dwellers were spending an average of 101.1 minutes per day in PA, while the city residents were averaging around 62.2 minutes a day.

 

The pandemic effect on fitness

Various surveys were carried out recently that highlight how the pandemic has impacted the way people exercise. 

1. InterMiles survey

Sample size: 11500

Region: Pan India

Results:

• Almost 50% of Indians spent more time working out, post the onset of COVID.
• 58% of participants reported being more comfortable working out in open spaces.
• Respondents reported taking up various activities including virtual yoga, cross-country running, strength training, dance fitness routines, sports, aerobics, and meditation. 

2. Gympik survey

Sample size: 50000 

Region: Pan India

Results:

• It was found that the nationwide lockdown caused an upsurge in demand for various virtual classes. The below graph shows the breakup: 

   

• 84% of respondents tried live-streaming fitness classes at least thrice during the lockdown versus only 29% in 2019. 
• 77% of participants upped their fitness game by blending their household duties with virtual classes and home workout routines.
• 60% of female users were more interested in virtual classes compared to only 40% of male users.
• Users aged 25 to 34 were the most open to adopting digital fitness solutions.
• 55% of participants had started exercising 3-4 days a week, thanks to the pandemic. Here’s the breakup of participants from top-tier cities.

 

• 74% of respondents exercised to boost their immunity, compared to 53% to reduce health-related risks.
• 42% of respondents reported using meditation and mindfulness apps. This was driven by the fact that 45% and 37% of respondents experienced more anxiety and sadness respectively, during the lockdown.

3. Jan Ki Baat survey

Sample size: 1500

Age group: 19-65

Regions: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore, Chennai, Agra, Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Pune.

Results:

• 56% of respondents reported exercising regularly during the lockdown. The graph below shows the breakup of respondents exercising at different frequencies:

• More than 48% of respondents preferred Yoga compared to strength-based exercises and dance. 
• It was also seen that the number of people doing Yoga across age groups and the number of women working out had increased during the lockdown.
• 43% of people said they followed online workout videos while 35% reported using fitness apps. 
• 73% of participants admitted to following strict diet plans to stay healthy.

 

Gym statistics in India

As per a recent study by Gympik:

• There are around 20,000 gyms across India. This includes neighborhood workout centers as well as nationwide chains.
• 58% of men join a gym for strength training to bulk up their muscles. 
• 85% of women joined aerobics classes at the gym to lose weight, while 81% joined Zumba classes.

 

According to a survey of 10,949 respondents (aged 16 and above) conducted by Rakuten Insight in August 2020:

• Most participants had signed up for a local gym membership. Gyms such as Gold's Gym, CULT, and Fitness One led the pack.
• 65% of participants cited proximity as a major reason for signing up for the gym. Affordability, offering a wide range of facilities, and flexibility in contracts were some other top reasons.
• More than two-thirds of the respondents cited general health and fitness as motivation for going to the gym. Losing weight, improving mental health, and enjoyment were the other popular answers.

 

The Indian home fitness market statistics

As per a 2022 study by Flipkart:

• In January 2022, the exercise and fitness segment witnessed a growth of 24% dominated by large equipment including treadmills and exercise bikes.
• Fitness tools including resistance tubes, dumbbells, and skipping ropes saw massive sales in this period thanks to more people setting up home gyms.
• As compared to Q4 2021, here’s what the growth in this sector looked like in Q1 2022:

 

 

• Interestingly, tier 3+ cities ruled the roost. More than 57% of demand came in from them versus only 20% from metros.

Fitness trends: 2022 and beyond

The pandemic has completely transformed the fitness industry landscape. Check out a few fitness trends that have gathered steam in the past 2 years and are here to stay for a while.

1. Wearable technology

Wearables have been around for a while now. But this year, many fitness trackers and smartwatches are adding features that measure stress levels, body temperatures, respiratory rate, sleep, heart rate, and more, so that users can have a better picture of their overall health.

2. Hybrid workouts

Hybrid workouts -i.e. offline and online mode of training has been all the rage thanks to the pandemic. 

And for good reason. You can work out from the safety and convenience of your home or you can head out to the gym if you feel like working out with your buddies. 

3. Sustainable fitness

Today people understand that fitness isn’t just about getting a summer bod or wedding-ready. It’s about adopting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle that doesn’t just leave you looking good, but also feeling strong, mentally fit, and empowered. 

To remain sustainably fit, it’s important to have a good balance of strength training, cardiovascular, flexibility, and mobility exercises. 

4. Mini workouts

This is one 2022 fitness trend that will stop people from citing ‘lack of time’ as the main culprit behind them not working out. Mini workouts mean you don’t have to block 45-60 minutes at one stretch for your workout. It involves spreading out your workouts in short bursts of 10 to 15 minutes. Say, you do a 15-minute yoga session when you wake up and a 10-minute cardio workout at dusk. Bam! You’ve just hit your workout goals for the day.

5. Rise of the Metaverse

In 2022 and beyond, highly immersive and interactive workout games will enable fitness fanatics to pursue their fitness goals. Based on VR and AR technologies, these games will include movement-based cardio exercises, music-mapped routines, and other fitness activities such as boxing, dancing, sword fighting, etc.