Dr. David Katz Joins Forces With Anytime Fitness, Self Esteem Brands To Amplify How Fitness - As Lifestyle Medicine - Matters More Than Ever

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Self Esteem Brands (SEB), the parent company of Anytime Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City, today announced a partnership with Dr. David Katz, the globally-recognized authority on lifestyle medicine, to amplify the critical role fitness plays in the personal health and wellness of humans around the world.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in the U.S. and around the world, Dr. Katz will join the voices of SEB and Anytime Fitness to articulate the role of fitness as essential to personal health and wellness, and how it comes to life through the Anytime Fitness brand experience.

"We are grateful to have so many people around the world who trust Anytime Fitness to help them achieve their fitness and wellness goals," said Stacy Anderson, president, Anytime Fitness. "As we expand our services to include personal health coaching and wellness programs, we are delighted to work with Dr. Katz to engage our current and future members to discover more about the ways fitness and exercise are in fact lifestyle medicine ? ways to fight disease and risk factors, and ensure they enjoy healthier, more active lives."

Specifically, Dr. Katz will provide expert advice, education and support to Anytime Fitness on a variety of ways to engage its 4 million members across 5,000 locations in nearly 40 countries ? through programs, content, coaching and more ? in ways that create meaningful changes to their health and wellness lifestyle behaviors. He will also join SEB co-founders Chuck Runyon and David Mortensen as their advocacy work continues to ensure fitness is recognized as an essential, health-related service that helps people lower their risks of obesity, disease, depression and other factors that marginalize their quality of life.

"I am proud and delighted to join forces with Anytime Fitness and Self Esteem Brands to advance the proposition that lifestyle is the best medicine for adding years to lives, and life to years," Katz said. "The Anytime vision of fitness is about athletic performance, of course, but extends to so much more. Their commitment to that broader vision, and their wide reach, represents great promise to the entire field of health promotion."

"There is a new normal for the fitness industry ? the long game is a bet on health and wellness, and COVID-19 has shown that we need to place a stronger emphasis on that bet," Runyon said. "We can and should fight disease and pandemics with healthy lifestyles, and fitness is at the center of that fight. Our mission is to improve the self-esteem of the world, and we look forward to working with Dr. Katz to help more people than ever embrace fitness as lifestyle medicine."

About David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM 
Dr. David L. Katz is a Preventive Medicine specialist and globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine. He is the founding director of Yale University's Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; president and founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc. Katz is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine; the American College of Physicians; the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; and Morse College, Yale University.  He earned his BA at Dartmouth College; his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; his MPH from the Yale University School of Public Health; and completed sequential residencies in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine/Public Health, earning Board certification in both disciplines. Learn more about Dr. Katz at https://davidkatzmd.com/.

About Anytime Fitness
Anytime Fitness is the fastest-growing gym franchise in the world, averaging 300 new gyms per year while serving 4,000,000 members at 5,000 gyms and is the only franchise of any kind to have locations on all seven continents. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Anytime Fitness prides itself on providing its members with convenient fitness options and friendly, personal service in well-maintained facilities that feature top-quality exercise equipment. Anytime Fitness gyms are now open in nearly 40 countries. All franchised gyms are individually owned and operated and features the "Anywhere Access" policy which allows members access to any Anytime Fitness gym worldwide. For more information, visit www.anytimefitness.com.

About Self Esteem Brands
Our purpose is to improve the self-esteem of the world. Self Esteem Brands (SEB) is the parent company of Anytime Fitness (the world's largest fitness franchise), Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City. Combined, most of our more than 4,700 franchise locations are locally operated across 30 countries worldwide by independent, small business owners. SEB is also the parent company to affiliates Provision Security Solutions and Healthy Contributions. Leading with a high-performance culture anchored in the values of people, purpose, profits and play, plus a charitable focus through its HeartFirst Foundation®, SEB seeks to enrich the lives of all who interact with our brands and businesses. Our vision is a world of self-esteem, for every human to rise from their challenges. For more information on Self Esteem Brands, please visit https://www.sebrands.com/.

SOURCE Self Esteem Brands