A broader idea of health is pumping up the popularity of full-service fitness clubs

There are 29 medically based fitness and wellness centers all over Greater Cleveland, according to the Medical Fitness Association, a nonprofit organization whose board of doctors reviews the centers and offers advice to make them more effective. They range from loose affiliations between hospitals and local recreation centers, to rehabilitation centers where patients can continue to use the facilities at low cost, to full-service free-standing monuments of fitness that compete with, and can cost more than, most health clubs. The increasing popularity of these centers mirrors a national trend toward an appreciation of the wellness concept, that prevention is indeed the best possible medicine. There are now more than 800 fitness centers affiliated with hospitals in the country, according to the MFA, a number that continues to rise each year.