Beginnings

According to Wing, medical fitness facilities are generally thought to have originated around 1970, with the development of the Cooper Fitness Center in Dallas, Texas. In addition, says Wing, “The Medical Fitness Association was formed in 1991 in answer to the growing demand for a national organization to act as a central base for information.”

Primary focus

The primary focus of a medical fitness facility, according to Wing, is “improving the health status of the populations we service through development of individualized programs for members based on [their] specific health risks and disease states.”

She continues, “Medically based centers focus not only on primary and secondary prevention programs for their members and the community, but also on the use of exercise in the treatment of chronic disease conditions.”

Medically based facilities also focus on providing health education programs and services to the local community.