Curious about which cities in the United States have the most health club members? According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the honors go to Denver for the year 2002. IHRSA reports that U.S. health club memberships grew to a record 36.3 million members in 2002, up from 33.8 million the previous year. The largest increase was in the over-55 age group, which increased by 23 percent and in 2002 numbered 6.9 million strong.

New York City residents may be forced to endure an increase in fitness facility membership fees if a proposal by New York Governor David Paterson is passed. As stated on the New York State website for the 2009–2010 Executive Budget, Paterson has proposed “personal and credit services” and “entertainment-related spending” sales taxes—among many others—to help reduce the current $13.7 billion budget deficit by about 22%. Personal services such as beauty, barbering, health salon and gymnasium services and more will all see an increase in tax.

IDEA FitnessConnect (IFC) is reaching greater audiences by syndicating its information to top health and fitness websites. Think of it as embedding the directory within a third-party site, making it easier for fitness professionals to reach potential clients in high-traffic areas. This also positions many fitness pros in front of new markets. You can select which websites display your profile information. By clicking on “Privacy Settings” in your profile page, you can enable (or disable) your profile on each website.