2025 Healthy Ageing Summit to explore growing seniors fitness market

Set to be held next week, the 2025 Healthy Ageing Summit is preparing to equip health, wellness and allied professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to support the vital and growing ageing demographic.

Taking place on 29th and 30th May at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, the Summit’s third edition will, according to Ken Baldwin, co-founder of the Healthy Ageing Summit and Director of the Healthy Ageing Institute, “explore the seven pillars of longevity and ensure delegates are able to learn how to guide clients through this transformative phase of life, ensuring they live not just longer, but healthier and more fulfilling lives.”

With the theme Empowering Lifelong Wellness, the Summit will delve into fitness programs for seniors, what AUSactive’s most recent trends survey - released in October last year - identified as a top industry development for 2025.

AUSactive Chief Executive Barrie Elvish explained “keeping active can mean very different things to each individual who exercises, and this year’s trends showcase a fantastic range of just how people are keeping moving.

“With people living longer and seeking to maintain active lifestyles, fitness programs tailored for older adults are gaining significant traction. These programs are designed to improve a health-related quality of life and promote independent living, catering specifically to the baby boomer and older generations.”

With the over-55s demographic identified as the fastest growing segment in gym memberships - with participation in structured fitness, wellness and active lifestyle programs increasing year-on-year, Baldwin is concerned that despite their rising presence, older adults remain underrepresented in program design, instructor training and mainstream fitness offerings.

Baldwin, who wrote on the topic in the March/April 2025 issue of Australasian Leisure Management, advised “there’s a huge gap between demand and delivery.

“This demographic wants to move better, feel better, and live longer - but in many cases, the fitness industry still speaks to 25-year-olds. That’s a missed opportunity on every level - commercially, professionally, and ethically.”

Baldwin believes that health and wellness professionals are uniquely positioned to close this gap - if they have the right education and tools – which the Healthy Ageing Summit 2025 is set to deliver through:

• Keynote presentations and expert panels

• Interactive workshops and cooking demonstrations

• Sessions on recovery, transitional programming, and gut health

• Discussions on AI in wellness and personalized marketing strategies

Notable Speakers
The summit will feature a lineup of esteemed professionals, including:

• Ian O’Dwyer

• Dave Liow

• Bobby Cappuccio

• Emily Splichal

• Fiona Cosgrove

• Robyn Walker

• Andrew Chadwick

• Flic Manning

• Andrew Campbell

• Grant Ian Gamble

• Nat Evans

• Glen Taylor

• Ken Baldwin

Baldwin’s seven pillars of longevity are: physical activity; nutrition; mental wellbeing; sleep; social connections; purpose and engagement and preventative healthcare.

Delegate places for the Summit are still open.

Click here for more information on the Healthy Ageing Summit in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

A feature from Ken Baldwin on the market for senior fitness was published in the March/April 2025 issue (#167) of Australasian Leisure Management.

Subscribers and members of Australasian Leisure Management’s partner organisations will receive this issue of the publication in the mail. Subscribers can click here to view this issue online.

Images: Technogym's equipment in use during a senior's program (top) and Ken Baldwin, co-founder of the Healthy Ageing Summit and Director of the Healthy Ageing Institute (below).