There's a wealth of evidence highlighting the positive impact that physical activity can have on mental health, from the immediate feelgood effect of an endorphin rush through to longer-term benefits such as its proven ability to delay or even prevent cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's (see Health Club Management 2012 issue 4 p46).

Exercise has been shown to help with a wide range of other mental health conditions too: preventing and treating depression and anxiety, for example, as well as helping with post-natal depression and attention deficit disorder.

This presents us with two clear opportunities: firstly, to further engage with GPs to drive exercise referrals for mental health, for both treatment and prevention; and secondly, to engage with a broader range of prospective members by communicating a compelling, and in many cases immediate, benefit.

Indeed, a survey conducted by mental health charity MIND found that 83 per cent of respondents exercised to lift mood or reduce stress, and seven out of 10 gym users with no mental health issues felt their mental wellbeing would suffer if they did not exercise. Quite aside from winning over the GPs, there's a strong commercial argument in favour of promoting the mental health benefits of working out to prospective members.

For a member, while improvements in fitness levels can take months  if they happen at all  working out can deliver immediate, tangible shifts in mood. And quick results mean higher levels of motivation and retention  the 'feelgood factor' is a key driver in encouraging regular exercise. If, instead of falling back exclusively on messages such as weight loss, gyms also highlighted mental health and happiness, they might attract a broader, more motivated group of members.

Meanwhile, from a GP perspective, there's a clear role for exercise as medicine for mental health. And with evidence suggesting that one in four people experiences a mental health condition  a condition that's chronic for one in five sufferers  there is unquestionably a need for the fitness industry's offering.

To date, however, much of our industry's work with the medical sector has focused on the physical benefits: the role of exercise in managing obesity and thereby preventing diseases such as cancer and heart disease, for example. Evidence currently being gathered through the FIA Research Institute to prove the value of gym-based exercise also focuses on physical, rather than mental, markers.

Given the prevalence of mental health issues, it's time we focused more on this area. Some GPs are already tuned in our value in this field, but with exercise still surprisingly low on many GPs' agendas, there is much to do. And if referrals happen, we need to ensure people are pointed specifically in our direction, rather than to physical activity in general. The industry must provide specific evidence, deliver more specialist qualifications, rethink the way it packages its offering, refine its messaging.

As with all preventative healthcare messages, the challenge of communicating longer-term benefits to consumers  the role of exercise in preventing Alzheimer's, for example  will always be in giving some urgency to the message, making people act today for something that might not happen. But a two-pronged approach  prevention/treatment for GPs, happiness for consumers  is well worth considering.