Fitness Together Announces Top 7 Healthy Food Trends for 2011

Your New Year’s Resolution to get in shape may get a boost thanks to some national food trends putting consumers’ health in the driver’s seat in 2011.

Fitness Together, the world’s largest organization of fitness studios specializing in one-on-one personal training, has just released its Top 7 Healthy Food Trends for 2011.

“This could be the year that grocery stores, restaurants and government regulators come together to make big advances for the health and wellness of the general public,” says Janet Brill, Ph.D., R.D. [“Dr. Janet”], a nationally-acclaimed author and the director of nutrition for Fitness Together’s Nutrition Together program. 

In Brill’s newest book, Prevent A Second Heart Attack, that hits bookstores across the country in February, she addresses a lot of these healthy food trends in great detail as well.

Fitness Together’s Top 7 Healthy Food Trends for 2011 include:

1. Sodium and added sugars are the new trans-fats.  These are two ingredients that have been black-listed by major health organizations.  Expect to see less of them in foods as a direct result.
2. Processed foods are out and locally-grown foods are in.  There is a growing attraction to farmer’s markets, community gardens, and restaurants that source locally-grown fresh foods.  This, in turn, will continue to promote a healthier diet with more fresh fruits and vegetables as well.
3. Omega-3s win the spotlight.  An understanding of good fats and fatty acids found in Omega-3s is on the rise, and so is the demand for more fish and heart-healthy foods in the American diet.  More of these foods rich in Omega-3s will find their way into restaurants and kitchens across America.
4. Portion control, done easy.  Expect to see a growing variety of pre-packaged foods in smaller portions with limited calories.  The success of the 100-calorie snack packs of cookies and crackers has spawned a new niche to help consumers downsize what we eat by downsizing what we buy.
5. Better food labeling…by law.  Consumers want to know what they are eating.  Food suppliers and restaurants will continue to provide nutritional information on their products and menus in growing numbers.  Or, legislation will mandate it.
6. Boomer nutrition will boom.  The aging population isn’t interested in fad diets.  They are living longer and eating better.  They want food that tastes good and is nutritious too.  And they have buying power and voting power to exercise their demands on businesses that serve them.
7. Your Gym now has nutrition guidance.  Nutritionists are getting top billing at fitness facilities.  That will continue as more businesses that specialize in fitness tackle a healthy diet as an integral component of the best overall healthy lifestyle solution.  Workouts that burn calories now include meal plans and eating counseling, too. 

“We don’t want escalating health care costs, but medical advances are helping us live longer,” Brill explains.  “That’s why our diet in the midst of the rising obesity and diabetes epidemics is more important than ever.  And the market is responding.”

A regular in the media, Brill is an authority on the topics of obesity and cardiovascular disease prevention. She is a frequent guest nutrition expert on Lifetime Television’s “The Balancing Act.” She also has been published and quoted in scientific journals as well as mainstream press, including: the International Journal of Obesity, the ACSM Health & Fitness Journal, Shape, Prevention, Men’s Health, First for Women, Woman’s World and more.

As director of nutrition for Fitness Together, Brill works closely with franchisees to create a science-based nutrition program for their clients designed to promote health and to reduce the risk for major chronic diseases.

About Fitness Together Holdings, Inc.:
Based in Highlands Ranch, Colo., Fitness Together Holdings, Inc., is one of the world’s largest wellness organizations. The parent company oversees Fitness Together Franchise Corporation a one-on-one personal training fitness franchisor established in 1983 that began Franchising in 1996, and Elements Therapeutic Massage, Inc. a massage therapy franchisor that began franchising in 2006. Today, the combined franchise network has hundreds of Franchises sold across the United States, Costa Rica, Brazil, Israel, Ireland, and Canada.