More than 66m Americans used a gym in 2016, a record high since the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) began tracking health club consumer statistics in 1987.

Based on a study by the association which feeds into the 2017 Physical Activity Council Participation Report, results show that the number of individual members totalled 57.3m last year, up 3.6 per cent from 55.3m in 2015.

Members visited their health club an average of 106 times last year. Of the 296.6m Americans aged six and older, 19.3 per cent were gym members in 2016.

Joe Moore, IHRSA’s president and chief executive officer, said: “Consumers continue to rely on health clubs as the primary outlet for physical activity and health goals. Increased participation in fitness activities helped fuel growth in memberships and utilisation as total club visits surpassed 5 billion for the fifth consecutive year.”

Results show that nearly one out of five Americans belonged to at least one of the 36,540 health clubs nationwide. The number of health clubs increased by just 1 per cent over the previous year.

In 2016, US health club industry revenue increased to US$27.6billion (£21.5bn, €25.6bn), up from US$25.8bn (£20.1bn, €24bn) in 2015, a rise of 7.2 per cent.

Jay Ablondi, IHRSA’s executive vice president of global products, said: “Industry revenues continue to grow as members use their clubs more frequently with many investing in multiple health club options.

“While the increase in the number of fitness centres has slowed, club operators have adeptly responded to consumer needs and demands for variety in fitness programmes and training formats.”

The 2017 PAC report showed that more than 81 million inactive Americans do not take part in any of the 118 sports and activities covered by the document, which includes everything from individual and team sports to fitness machines, camping, walking and stretching.

Low-income households have double the levels of inactivity. Over 40 per cent of individuals from households with annual incomes of less than US$25,000 (£19,500, €23,230) are inactive, compared to only 18 per cent of those from households with over US$100,000 (£78,000, €92,915) income.