Impact of Private Gym Rollouts on Reducing Doctor Visits and Encouraging Exercise

Singapore study of 285,000 residents suggests mini gym launches could also help people save medical costs for conditions linked to physical inactivity.

A mini gym in a retrofitted shipping container launched by The Gym Pod in Singapore’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in 2020. The public health impact of opening such gyms was studied by the NTU Singapore-led researchers. (Credit: NTU Singapore)

Private gyms available on demand have the potential to improve the health of urban dwellers by nudging them to exercise not only at the gyms but also at public fitness facilities and parks, a Singapore study has found. This in turn could alleviate rising demand and costs for healthcare in cities with ageing populations.

The study showed that in areas where privately-run mini gyms operating 24/7 had launched, both doctor visits and the medical bills for each person were likely to fall significantly for conditions associated with a lack of physical activity. These conditions include obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mood disorders.

Researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) had looked at nearly 285,000 residents across Singapore in about 200 precincts.

For each precinct studied, they found that the monthly number of doctor visits for conditions associated with insufficient physical activity fell from 220 to 154 visits per 10,000 people on average, a drop of about 30 per cent or 66 visits.

The researchers also observed that average monthly medical spending per resident for conditions linked to physical inactivity decreased from $13.55 to $10.43, a decline of about 23 per cent or $3.12.

These figures reflect an overall drop in healthcare use and spending at the population level, rather than changes in the cost of a single visit or the number of visits among only those who visited a doctor. This is because the numbers are averages calculated on a per capita basis for each precinct across the population of Singapore residents studied in 200 areas, including residents who visited a doctor and those who did not.

Of the precincts analysed, mini gyms were launched between 2020 and 2022 in 26 areas with residential estates, parks or shopping malls. Areas with no mini gym launches were used as controls to account for changes not linked to the gym openings.

The study found that private gym launches had a spillover effect on public infrastructure as well. They appeared to increase people’s visits to public gyms and sports facilities, as parking near these facilities rose, from 42.46 per cent of parking spaces occupied in a month on average to 45.27 per cent, an increase of 2.81 percentage points. Publicly available data on vehicle parking numbers was used as a rough gauge for how well used the government-run fitness facilities were.

The link between private gym launches and a drop in doctor visits and medical costs was also stronger if a precinct has green spaces like parks, or community clubs with facilities for sports and recreational activities.

The positive impact of the private gym openings did not seem short-lived too, as they continued to be observed even up to four months after the gyms opened.

“These observations support the view that visible access to fitness infrastructure may act as a nudge to raise health consciousness among people and encourage them to exercise more,” said Professor Goh Kim Huat from NTU’s Nanyang Business School who led the research.

“The findings also suggest that private-sector investments in expanding fitness infrastructure can serve as a promising lever to promote better health among urban residents,” added Prof Goh.

Role of private gyms on public health

The researchers had sought to understand whether and how private-sector innovations in fitness infrastructure can generate measurable public health benefits. But establishing such a relationship has been challenging globally, said Assistant Professor Jack Tong, also from NTU’s Nanyang Business School who collaborated on the research.

Some reasons include a lack of precise information on the timing and location of private gym launches, and difficulty accessing large healthcare data sets of individuals over a long period of time, he explained.

The NTU-led researchers addressed these issues with their study in Singapore, where the integration and identification of the data needed for analysis could be done.

They worked with a national healthcare system in the country to obtain anonymised patient data of individuals across a large segment of Singapore.

When the study ran from 2020 to 2022, the only major fitness provider expanding into urban areas then was Singapore fitness start-up The Gym Pod. The company is known for its unmanned mini gyms found in retrofitted shipping containers and small retail spaces. Each gym typically fits one to three people and is available for online booking and use round the clock.

The researchers focused on The Gym Pod’s mini gyms as the cost to book them is relatively low, they are available on-demand and were being launched rapidly across residential areas in Singapore over several years. The rollout was traceable, with clear public information on opening dates and locations, which are important details for the study. In contrast, other companies’ gym rollouts are typically more gradual and less transparent about where and when the gyms would be opening. The Gym Pod did not fund the study nor have a role in its design.

The researchers took into account factors such as COVID-19 cases and measures at the time, how accessible the mini gyms are by public transport and how densely populated the precincts being studied are.

While the empirical approach of the research allows the researchers to identify a robust relationship consistent with a causal effect, the study is not based on a randomised clinical trial. This means that the findings should not be interpreted as showing private gym openings lead to improved public health outcomes, but rather that there is evidence of a strong association between the two.

Public-private partnerships on improving health

The launch of on-demand mini gyms that run 24/7 like this one in Singapore’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was analysed by the NTU Singapore-led researchers from 2020 to 2022 across nearly 200 precincts in the country. (Credit: NTU Singapore)

While the health benefits of the private gym rollouts for each person may appear modest, they can become meaningful when aggregated across communities.

Asst Prof Tong said: “Our study covers almost 200 precincts and 285,000 residents, so even small reductions in the use of healthcare services can translate into substantial reductions in overall healthcare demand and spending at the population level.”

“More broadly, our findings suggest that improving access to exercise infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods may serve as a preventive health measure,” he added. “This highlights the potential for public-private collaboration in promoting physical activity and easing long-term pressure on healthcare systems as populations age.”

Prof Goh pointed out that the study’s findings show that private-sector innovation can complement public resources by developing compact, technology-powered gym facilities and tailoring services to meet community needs.

“Governments can also incentivise private entities to expand operations into underserved areas through subsidies, tax incentives or joint projects,” he added. “These partnerships can bridge gaps in public health infrastructure while fostering sustainable urban development.”

Future research could analyse demographic information, such as gender and socioeconomic status, to get deeper insights into the impact of private gyms on different segments of society. Better indicators of how private gyms affect the use of public fitness facilities could be studied as well.

This research paper was published by PNAS Nexus on 16 February 2026.

Goh Kim Huat is the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) and Senior Editor for the Journal of the Association for Information Systems. He received his Ph.D. in business administration with a specialisation in economics and information systems from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His research interests include using analytics and economic theories to model human behaviour in healthcare and technology-mediated settings, and evaluating health systems implementation. He has worked with various organisations such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (United States), Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Health System, Rockwell Automation, Telenor (Norway), and Singapore Exchange in executive training, research, and business analytics related projects.

Siliang (Jack) Tong is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Information Technology and Operations Management at Nanyang Business School, and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (by courtesy), Nanyang Technological University. He joined NTU in February 2021 after receiving his Ph.D. in Marketing from the Fox School of Business, Temple University. He is an empirical researcher whose work examines how artificial intelligence and platform algorithms shape organisational strategy, consumer behaviour, and societal outcomes. His research focuses on human–AI interaction, recommendation algorithm design, and platform governance, with applications spanning digital platforms, healthcare, and the mobile economy.

The public health impact of private fitness expansion