Fitness centers gain popularity as more people want to lose weight

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region –Fitness centers are springing up in cities across the Kurdistan Region and businesses bring into the country millions of dollars’ worth of exercising equipment every year as working out becomes a popular culture.

“Many people have turned to fitness in recent years,” Akar Azad, owner of EkFitness told Rudaw. “That is why the number of exercise centers is increasing steadily.”

“This has driven up the sale of fitness equipment.” Azad added.

He estimates that close to $6 million is spent on importing sports equipment from abroad.

“We import very expensive original European equipment,” he explained. “We purchase original equipment in European countries and sell some in Germany and export some to the Kurdistan Region.”

The German company Marshal Fitness has a branch in Erbil that imports fitness equipment to the Region.

“We import more than 90 kinds of fitness equipment from China and Taiwan,” Ahmad Aziz, sales manager at Marshal Fitness, told Rudaw, adding that some are second-hand. “Some of these equipment are used at home, some at fitness centers.”

Their price ranges from $100 to $5,000, depending on their quality and type, he said.

There are nearly 450 fitness centers in the Kurdistan Region – 110 of them in the province of Erbil.

The overall investment in local gyms ranges from $15,000 to $40,000, said Azad, that’s why their membership fees are so low.

Dana Jumha, head of the government licensing committee said that from 24 gyms in the entire province four years ago, there are now 60 in the city alone.