Australians turn to magazines and online for information on Health, Wellbeing & Fitness

The internet ranks the highest, with 31% of Australians 14+ nominating it the most useful media channel for product information and purchasing in the health, wellbeing and fitness category.

Magazines rank second, nominated by 22% of Australians 14+ as the most useful media channel for this category. Magazines also show a definite skew to women: 25% of women (compared to 19% of men) consider magazines the most useful medium for health, wellbeing and fitness.


Media Most Useful for Health, Wellbeing & Fitness (for the period October 2010 – September 2011)


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, October 2010 - September 2011 (n = 52,119).

This is important news for media channels, because health and wellbeing continues to be a growth category. This is further reinforced by data on Australians’ attitudes to health and fitness, which

indicates that Australians aged 14+ years are conscious of eating well, e.g.:

73% try to get enough calcium in their diet,

51% are eating less red meat these days,

46% try to buy additive-free food.

Yet even so, for more than 1/3rd of Australians aged 14+ years, a low fat diet is a way of life, and

64% would like to be able to lose weight,

36% are concerned about their cholesterol level, and

26% always thinks of the number of calories in the food they’re eating.

Whilst the vast majority of Australians 14+ (79%, to be exact) agree that they feel well and in good health, the growth in consumer interest in the health, wellbeing and fitness category – evident in the remarkable growth in titles and readership of magazines in this category – points to an ever-increasing consumer awareness of health and wellbeing.It’s not surprising, then, that there’s been a corresponding growth in consumer appetite for information and advice on this important subject.

In fact, just in the last 5 years, readership of the health, wellbeing and fitness magazine category has grown by 76%; this magazine category is now read by 1.845 million Australians aged 14+.


Total Category Readership by Year: Health, Wellbeing & Fitness Magazines (2005 – 2011)


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, October 2005 - September 2011 (n = 321,543).'Health, Wellbeing & Fitness’ magazines during this period include: Slimming & Health, Nature & Health, Weight Watchers Magazine, WellBeing, Fitness First, Women's Health & Fitness, Women's Health, Diabetic Living, Health Smart, Good Health, Healthy Food Guide, Prevention, Men’s Fitness, and Men’s Health.


George Pesutto, Industry Director – Media, Roy Morgan Research says:

“It’s not surprising the internet is considered the most useful medium for health and wellbeing information. The ability to search for information on any topic imaginable – as well as the relative anonymity of ‘Doctor Google’ – makes the Internet a useful and popular medium.

“A key benefit of magazines is the important role played by this medium as a trusted advisor and source of information, particularly among women.Magazines are highly influential, in that their readers look to them for ideas, advice and guidance. It’s therefore quite logical that the health, wellbeing & fitness magazine category has grown in line with the growth of the product category itself.

“As the year draws to a close, we’re approaching that time when we all start resolving to make changes for a healthier lifestyle. Trusted sources of information – such as magazines – play a vital role in this category, particularly as more and more people seek advice and assistance in improving their health and wellbeing.”

Purchase from an extensive range of Roy Morganmedia profiles, across print, Internet, radio, television, pay TV, and more. Click here to view profiles of people who find TV, Radio, Magazine, Yellow Pages, Catalogue and Newspaper – the most useful media for various categories of products (alcohol, books, auto parts etc). Find out more about those who are considered ‘Trusted Advisors’ when it comes to health and fitness; those who are ‘Seeking Information’ and those who are first to try new health and fitness products. These profiles provide a broad understanding of the target audience, in terms of demographics, attitudes, activities and media usage in Australia.

Click here to browse thousands of accurate, insightful quantitative Roy Morgan research reports and profiles ready to download now.


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