健身房定律：一次性付清年费不利于健身

People who fork out for the gym fortnightly rather than annually will turn up for workouts more often, according to new Australian research. 

Behavioural specialists say that members who pay an up-front yearly fee go less frequently because they don't have a regular reminder of their commitment printed on their bank statements.

A team from the University of Wollongong compared people who paid for a year's gym membership in advance to those who signed a contract but paid by fortnightly salary deductions.

The results, published in the international journal Marketing Theory, showed annual payers worked out five times a month on average, compared to eight monthly visits for those on fortnightly schedules.

This second group were motivated by regular reminders of the real cost of missing a visit, said Professor Sandra Jones from the university's Centre for Health Behaviour and Communication Research.

"People look at their pay slip and think to themselves 'I paid $20 this fortnight and didn't get anything for it,' which motivates them to go to the gym more often and get their money's worth," Prof Jones said.

"But if they pay in advance it isn't until they get the renewal bill at the end of the year that they realize how much money they've 'wasted' and by then they are out of the habit of exercising."

This proves that the method of gym payment can seriously affect people's activity levels in this study, at least, by up to 50 per cent.

The findings have important implications for the promotion of physical activity and support a change in the way gyms operate, the researcher said.

"I am not suggesting that facilities shouldn't charge up-front fees , as these are often necessary to cover equipment and running costs," Prof Jones said.

"But since we seem to be dealing with a reminder mechanism, up-front payers could be sent a regular reminder of what the last month has, in effect, cost them and encouraging them to make full use of their membership."

This would benefit gyms, too, because members who attend more regularly are more likely to sign up for another year, she said 

澳大利亚一项最新研究表明，与一次性付清年费的健身者相比，每两周预付一次健身费的人更经常去健身房锻炼。

行为研究学家说，会员预付完年费后，就没了定期的银行帐单"任务"提醒，由此，他们去健身房锻炼的次数会少许多。

伍伦贡大学的一个研究小组对两类健身会员进行了比较，一类是提前支付一年费用的会员，另一类则是办了一年制会员卡但可每两周分期付款的人。

研究结果表明，一年一付的人平均每月锻炼5次，而两周一付的人每月锻炼8次。此研究在国际期刊《营销理论》上发表。

该大学"健康行为与交流研究中心"的桑德拉·琼斯教授说，两周一付的人会定期被提醒"少去一次浪费多少钱"，因此有动力去锻炼。

"人们看到帐单的时候就会想，'我这两周花了20美元却什么都没得到'。这种想法会促使他们更经常去锻炼，让钱花得有所值。"

"但是，如果他们是提前一次付清的话，他们只能到年底看到帐单时才会意识到自己浪费了多少钱，而那时支付者已经没有锻炼的习惯了。"

这一研究证明，健身房的支付方式极大地影响人们锻炼的程度，至少50%的人会受此影响。

研究人员说，这一发现对促进人们锻炼身体有很大的指导意义，并且为改变健身房的运作方式提供了支持依据。

琼斯教授说，"我不是说健身房不应该要求预付费用，显然，他们需要用这些钱来购买健身器材和维持运作。"

"但是因为我们似乎是要解决一个提醒机制，所以预付费用的人应该定期接到通知，提醒他们上个月花了多少钱，鼓励他们充分利用他们的健身卡。"

她说，这种做法也将使健身房受益，因为经常健身的会员更可能续办年卡。