Fitness Conscious, Not Obsessed

They bellied up to the bar at Sports Club/L.A. for fruit smoothies at a coming-of-age party hosted by Fitness magazine.

Publisher Margery Gladstone, watching the beautiful spandex-encased people pass en route to aerobics, was amazed: “Everybody who walked in was gorgeous and fit beyond compare.”

But, she adds, she sees a nationwide trend to let down just a bit: “They’re far more forgiving of themselves in their quest to be fit.”

Here, a flabby body can’t hide. Elsewhere? Said Gladstone: “Fifty percent of the people in this country are still overweight. That will take a generation to change.”

Overall, as she sees it, the 1980s “obsessional quest for hard bodies” has been replaced by a passionate interest in wellness and longevity. Gladstone explained: “We felt the burn four or five times a week. People don’t have the time anymore.” So they compromise.

She doesn’t see this as a bad omen for Fitness, the magazine. Fitness, the concept, is here to stay: “The gym has become the dating bar of the ‘90s.”

The magazine, 18 months old, has a circulation of 375,000, a new editor and what Gladstone describes as “a very forgiving tone. We do understand everyone needs to cheat once in a while.” The current issue includes the article “Healthy Women Do Jiggle.”