Original title: What Australian young adults with disability are prepared and willing to pay to exercise in a gym: An online survey and discrete choice experiment
Rachel A Kennedy, Utsana Tonmukayakul, Nora Shields · September 2026
Gyms can cost too much for people to use, especially young adults with disability. Researchers wanted to know what these young adults actually expect to spend and what they are willing to pay for different gym setups. To figure this out, the team ran an online survey alongside a discrete choice experimentA survey method where people choose between options to reveal what they value., which is a method that asks people to pick between different pricing options. Participants were prepared to pay a median amount of $20/week. After testing different options, researchers calculated willingness-to-payThe maximum amount someone is willing to spend to get something. numbers for single visits and unlimited passes. Overall, the findings suggested that "value-added" memberships, which include extra facilities along with standard gym access, are likely unaffordable for young adults with disability.
Imagine you're deciding whether to buy a classic burger or a deluxe burger with extra toppings. You have only $5 in your pocket. The classic is $4, the deluxe is $6. You really want the deluxe but can't afford it. In this paper, researchers ask young adults with disability how much they can spend on gym access. They find that while basic gym access is affordable, adding extra features like pools or classes pushes the price beyond what most can pay.
For young adults with disability, finding affordable gym options is a real barrier to exercise. This study shows they are willing to pay about $20 per week, but many value-added memberships cost more than that—making them out of reach. That means gyms may need to offer simpler, cheaper memberships to include this group.
The abstract does not specify the sample size, demographics beyond disability status, or how representative the sample is. It also does not compare these WTP estimates to actual gym pricing in the market, only mentions 'market reality' data. The results may not generalize to other age groups or countries.
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What Australian young adults with disability are prepared and willing to pay to exercise in a gym: An online survey and discrete choice experiment — Rachel A Kennedy, Utsana Tonmukayakul, Nora Shields — JSAMS plus — doi:10.1016/j.jsampl.2026.100154
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.