I ran across this short article recently on the commodification of fitness, and how, despite the multi-million dollar industry of fitness experts, a plethora exercise classes, online tools, etc. the Western world continues to struggle against obesity. I'm also increasingly suspicious of any "trend" that begins to look like religion. I think it is important to note that as Christianity loses its toehold in post modern society, and large portions of Western society no longer understand what it is to believe as a Christian or understand the history and tradition, more and more mundane things (food, exercise, etc.) are made over as religion, with temples of worship (the grocery store, the indie restaurant, or the gym), rituals of doing and being, and all the other things that accompany any serious practice of religion. Human beings are naturally religious, being created with a God-size void and will seek to fill it any way possible.
This article (written by a fitness industry insider) really gets to the heart of the issue, which is namely, commodification of all aspects of life, the choices we have to make on the daily, and how that affects us. I would recommend reading the whole thing, I've excerpted the part that stood out most to me.
"Every fitness modality mentioned above is targeted at individuals (or, at most, small groups). They seek to engage the attention and resources of individual people in an effort to sell a choice: buy this product, attend this course, subscribe to this service, read this book. The unspoken assumption (of the consumer) is that making that choice will lead to a lifestyle change that confers better health. As it turns out, that’s a pretty bad bet.
Joining a gym or hiring a trainer is not choosing a lifestyle; it’s acquiring a resource. It occupies the same area of your brain as buying a pair of shoes or a candy bar: “I desire [unspecified neurological reward], possessing this resource generates [unspecified neurological reward], therefore I am compelled to arrange an economic tradeoff to acquire this resource.” It’s a transaction that satisfies the need of the moment.
“Unspecified neurological reward” can be anything from the cessation of hunger or pain, to social gratification and personal pride. It isn’t a bad thing; life is made up of these little transactions. It’s the basis for what we eat and when we sleep; it’s central to our relationships, our hobbies and what we do for a living. You are constantly making choices like these, sometimes consciously, mostly not. Your environment presents you with alternatives, and you choose. In the end, that’s all a “lifestyle” really is: a mosaic made up of many choices within the context of the world you live in."
Excellent. I need to go read the whole thing.
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