Obesity effects 40% of young adults and 44.8% of middle-aged adults the United States according to the most recent NHANES (Hales, et al., 2020). Specifically in Maryland, 32.2% of adults struggle with obesity according to the United Health Foundation (United Health Foundation, n.d.).  OrangeTheory Fitness members fall into both of these age group with the demographic primarily including married, highly educated adults between the age 25-44 years old. In addition, most members work full-time and have household incomes over $90,000 (Wilson, 2018). When translating Maryland’s obesity rates to OTF classes, 5 out the 14 members in each class struggle with obesity. Along with the NHANES & United Health Foundation data, a needs assessment completed in February 2021 showed that majority of members joined OTF with the goal of achieving weight loss. Assisting members with weight management is import for overall health and the prevention of chronic diseases.

The proposed program will provide OTF members with knowledge and skills to aid in weight management. Nutrition education in the form of blog post, videos, in-person/virtual classes, and community partnerships. The program content will focus on fruit and vegetable intake due to its association with decreased BMI, waist circumference, and percent body fat (Yu et al., 2018). Program content will be disseminated through various social media platforms via the OTF studio accounts. Content will also be compiled on a nutrition website for members to view. Social media will be the primary mode from distributing content due to member studio relationships already in place and its popularity amongst the target audience. The Pew Research Center found that in 2019 72% of adults used at least social media platform (Pew Research Center, 2020). In addition, a study completed in 2014 reported that 8 out 10 internet searches were for health information making it an ideal medium for program content (Ventola, 2014).

The addition of a nutrition program to OTF will benefit bothe the members and the OTF franchise. For the members, the program will provide members with knowledge to improve the outcomes of their OTF classes and assist them with their weight loss/health goals. For the franchise, the service will make members feel cared for and have their concerns heard by the OTF franchise, as the lack of nutrition information currently available has been noted by members. Overall, the program will assist members with weight management while improving their view of the OTF franchise which will likely increase member retention and overall membership rates.

The use of popular social media platforms and inclusion of highly requested information will ensure the success of the program. Recent surveys have shown that members are actively seeking nutrition information through the OTF franchise and are motivated to make behavior changes. The next step to meet the members needs is to begin providing nutrition resources and will be completed by the initiation of this program.

 

References

Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2020). Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity among adults: United States, 2017–2018.

Pew Research Center. (2020, June 05). Demographics of social media users and adoption in the United States. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/

United Health Foundation. (n.d.). Annual Report: Obesity in Maryland. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Obesity/state/MD

Ventola C. L. (2014). Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best practices. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 39(7), 491–520.

Wilson, M. (2018, October 9). CSA Q&A: Orangetheory on fast-track with 260 new sites in 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://chainstoreage.com/store-spaces/csa-qa-orangetheory-on-fast-track-with-260-new-sites-in-2018

Yu, Z. M., DeClercq, V., Cui, Y., Forbes, C., Grandy, S., Keats, M., … & Dummer, T. J. (2018). Fruit and vegetable intake and body adiposity among populations in Eastern Canada: the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health Study. BMJ open, 8(4), e018060.