When she announced her new Let's Move campaign last month, first lady Michelle Obama focused on encouraging more physical activity for children and better nutrition through healthier food choices in schools. The campaign has the backing of several corporations and industries as well as federal agencies and the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services.

Add one more industry to the list of supporters for the Let's Move campaign: the health club industry. Within days of the announcement, the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) applauded the initiative.

“Mrs. Obama's pragmatic, compassionate and hands-on approach to solving the problem will serve as an inspiring example on which all of us can model our efforts,” says Joe Moore, IHRSA's president and CEO.

The health club industry already is helping get kids fit and curtailing childhood obesity. Currently, more than 22 percent of commercial health clubs offer children-specific programming, according to IHRSA, and almost 20 percent offer a kids-only section of the club. All told, health clubs serve more than 4.8 million members under the age of 18, including 1.13 million between the ages of 6 and 12 and 3.11 million between 13 and 17.

Further, the number of children using health clubs to exercise has increased 108 percent since 1990, according to IHRSA, and the number of first-time health club members under the age of 18 has doubled in 10 years. Also, 33 percent of fitness professionals teach kids' classes, and 55 percent offer one-on-one personal training to youths aged 18 and younger.

Clubs designed specifically for the physical development of children also have turned into industry-recognized companies. Clubs such as The Little Gym and My Gym have made Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 list the past few years. Another club, Fitwize 4 Kids, received Entrepreneur's attention a few years ago.

“Anything that's out there that's going to supplement and encourage physical activity, the better,” says Phil Lawler of PE4life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the enhancement of physical education programs. “My biggest concern with all these different types of models is to make sure we let kids be kids. We've got to make sure that fun is a major factor, even with health as our objective. If we turn them off to exercise, we've failed dramatically.”

THE LITTLE GYM

The Little Gym, Scottsdale, AZ, offers programs for kids as young as 4 months to 12 years old in areas such as gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, karate and sports skills development. The Little Gym franchisees are not required to have a personal training or physical education background but all franchisees go through a comprehensive program before opening their clubs.

“Our goal is to help children develop a love for physical activity and do what kids love best,” says Paul Dickison, vice president of marketing and brand management for The Little Gym. “They love to have fun, and they love to be energetic and active.”

Annual membership at The Little Gym, which ranked No. 141 on the Franchise 500 list, is $35 for one child and $60 for a family. Members pay for classes on top of that. A 20-week semester can range from $300 to $600 or $700, depending on the location of the club, Dickison says. Birthday parties and “parent survival nights,” where kids stay at The Little Gym while their parents go out on a date, bring in added revenue.

Domestic revenue was down about 8 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 for The Little Gym, but including the company's international operations, overall revenue was flat, Dickison says. Like all would-be club owners, potential franchisees of The Little Gym have found it difficult to get financing in the face of the recession, Dickison adds, but current franchisees have had success retaining members.

“Parents want to do what's best for their children,” Dickison says. “We feel that many of the parents that are enrolled in our programs are willing to forgo some of the simple pleasures that they used to experience, such as their $4 latte or frequent trips to restaurants. Even as we rolled into 2009, where the economy was at its toughest place in this recession, we saw an improvement in our ability to retain customers from semester to semester. That being said, we did find it a little bit of a challenge to stimulate market interest with gaining new people into the gyms, but it was a modest impact compared to what other industries are feeling.”

MY GYM

My Gym, Sherman Oaks, CA, is a franchised brand of clubs for children, but it also offers something unique that may be the wave of the future. At a lower-cost franchise fee, franchisees can purchase a My Gym Mobile unit. This allows them to market to between 50 and 75 day care and preschool-type facilities as well as Montessori schools and after-school programs in the franchisee's protected territory.

The mobile program and the fixed center-based clubs work toward My Gym's mission of combating childhood obesity and making fitness fun, says Michael Chalovich, chief operating officer of My Gym, which ranked No. 208 on the Franchise 500 list. Because of the tough economy and cuts to physical activity in schools, the franchisees have been able to sell school administrators on their movement class and activity class, Chalovich says.

Next Page: FITWIZE 4 KIDS

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