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

澳大利亞一項(xiàng)最新研究表明，與一次性付清年費(fèi)的健身者相比，每兩周預(yù)付一次健身費(fèi)的人更經(jīng)常去健身房鍛煉。 行為研究學(xué)家說，會(huì)員預(yù)付完年費(fèi)后，就沒了定期的銀行帳單"任務(wù)"提醒，由此，他們?nèi)ソ∩矸垮憻挼拇螖?shù)會(huì)少許多。 伍倫貢大學(xué)的一個(gè)研究小組對(duì)兩類健身會(huì)員進(jìn)行了比較，一類是提前支付一年費(fèi)用的會(huì)員，另一類則是辦了一年制會(huì)員卡但可每兩周分期付款的人。 研究結(jié)果表明，一年一付的人平均每月鍛煉5次，而兩周一付的人每月鍛煉8次。此研究在國際期刊《營銷理論》上發(fā)表。 該大學(xué)"健康行為與交流研究中心"的桑德拉·瓊斯教授說，兩周一付的人會(huì)定期被提醒"少去一次浪費(fèi)多少錢"，因此有動(dòng)力去鍛煉。 "人們看到帳單的時(shí)候就會(huì)想，'我這兩周花了20美元卻什么都沒得到'。這種想法會(huì)促使他們更經(jīng)常去鍛煉，讓錢花得有所值。" "但是，如果他們是提前一次付清的話，他們只能到年底看到帳單時(shí)才會(huì)意識(shí)到自己浪費(fèi)了多少錢，而那時(shí)支付者已經(jīng)沒有鍛煉的習(xí)慣了。" 這一研究證明，健身房的支付方式極大地影響人們鍛煉的程度，至少50%的人會(huì)受此影響。 研究人員說，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)對(duì)促進(jìn)人們鍛煉身體有很大的指導(dǎo)意義，并且為改變健身房的運(yùn)作方式提供了支持依據(jù)。 瓊斯教授說，"我不是說健身房不應(yīng)該要求預(yù)付費(fèi)用，顯然，他們需要用這些錢來購買健身器材和維持運(yùn)作。" "但是因?yàn)槲覀兯坪跏且鉀Q一個(gè)提醒機(jī)制，所以預(yù)付費(fèi)用的人應(yīng)該定期接到通知，提醒他們上個(gè)月花了多少錢，鼓勵(lì)他們充分利用他們的健身卡。" 她說，這種做法也將使健身房受益，因?yàn)榻?jīng)常健身的會(huì)員更可能續(xù)辦年卡。 （實(shí)習(xí)生江巍）