Fitness Culture As the Factor in Globalization of Recreational Sports

In the context of globalization, integration in the sphere of competitive and professional sports that receives maximum support from political and economic institutions, International Olympic Committee, and international sports federations expands to a great extent. Increasing need of the modern society for health-recreational technologies unprecedentedly reinforces the role of health culture and health industry known as “wellness”. Fitness is an element of wellness culture, and it presents a universal basis for popularization of health forms of physical and sport activity along with optimization of nutrition and body weight control. It makes health fitness as the direction of recreational sports an effective tool for strengthening population’s health and preventing non-communicable diseases.

Globalization of health fitness culture is primarily determined by the development of global fitness industry. Another factor in fitness development is the activity of mass media and advertising, as well as marketing and educational campaigns in the form of fitness conventions. The third factor in globalization of fitness culture is the activities of international organization in the sphere of sports for all and fitness, which include Sport for All Commission of International Olympic Committee, the Association for International Sport for All, International Fitness Association, Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness, and others.

Issues in social factors of promoting health fitness on a global scale as well as its scientific, informational, educational, economic, legal and institutional support represent actual direction in integrative sociological research of sports, physical activity and health. Uneven development of fitness culture and inequality in access to fitness services caused by of various social factors are of particular interest to sociologists.