Here’s a new addition to our Subject spotlight series and more quarterly data-driven insights into a specific corner of the Canadian book market.
This time around, we’re celebrating National Nutrition Month by taking a look at Health & Fitness.
Canadian readers don’t shy away from Health & Fitness titles. In our annual Canadian Book Consumer survey we track the popularity of book subjects purchased by Canadian book buyers throughout the year. In the 2021 survey, Health & Fitness titles are ranked as the eighth most popular Non-Fiction category purchased by Canadians, at 5% of all book purchases.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but can Health & Fitness titles do the same for Canadian readers?
We find out below with the Canadian sales and library circulation of Health & Fitness titles during the fourth quarter of 2021, tracked by our SalesData and LibraryData services.
Buying Health & Fitness
Health & Fitness titles were popular among Canadian book buyers in the fourth quarter of 2021. Compared to 2020, the overall sales of Health & Fitness titles were up 10% over the entire quarter.
Looking at the graph below, sales of Health and Fitness titles trended up during the fourth quarter for both 2020 and 2021. From October to December 2021, sales of Health & Fitness titles steadily increased 57%. Over the last quarter of 2020, sales only increased 22% for this subject category.
The fourth quarter of 2021 also saw big increases year-over-year in many of Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness' 43 BISAC subcategories, especially:
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Vaccinations — up 3,418%
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / First Aid — up 235%
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Mental Health — up 196%
From October to December 2021, the most purchased Health & Fitness subcategories were:
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition — 20% of all Health & Fitness sales
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Diseases — 16% of all Health & Fitness sales
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Healthy Living — 12% of all Health & Fitness sales
Borrowing Health & Fitness
The library circulation of Health & Fitness titles in the fourth quarter of 2021 was just as healthy as their sales. From October to December 2021, the library loan and renewal of Health & Fitness titles was up 27% and 16% from 2020.
This being said, the library circulation of Health & Fitness titles stayed relatively flat in the last quarter of 2021, shown in the graph below. Over 2021’s fourth quarter, loans of Health & Fitness titles were completely flat, while renewals increased 19%. In 2020, library loans decreased 18% but saw a 26% increase in renewals from October to December.
Which Health & Fitness BISAC subcategories were the most popular in Canadian libraries? From October to December 2021, these subcategories saw the greatest increases in library circulation compared to 2020:
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Breastfeeding — loans up 322% and renewals up 179%
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / First Aid — loans up 170% and renewals up 26%
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Cannabis & CBD — loans up 162% and renewals up 139%
Interestingly, the most circulated Health & Fitness subcategories during the last quarter of 2021 are exactly the same as the most purchased ones:
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Diet & Nutrition — 27% of all Health & Fitness loans and 24% of all Health & Fitness renewals
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Diseases — 16% of all Health & Fitness loans and 17% of all Health & Fitness renewals
Non-Fiction / Health & Fitness / Healthy Living — 7% of all Health & Fitness loans and 7% of all Thrillers renewals
Reading Health & Fitness
Here are the top selling and top borrowed Health & Fitness titles from the fourth quarter of 2021.
Top selling
Joy by Debbie Travis 🍁 with Jacky Brown
What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
Come As You Are by Dr. Emily Nagoski
World War C by Dr. Sanjay Gupta with Kristin Loberg
When the Body Says No by Dr. Gabor Maté 🍁
Top borrowed
The Metabolic Approach to Cancer by Dr. Nasha Winters and Jess Higgins Kelley
The 20/20 Diet by Dr. Phil McGraw
The End of Craving by Mark Schatzker 🍁
The Wahls Protocol by Dr. Terry Wahls
The Yoga Tradition by Georg Feuerstein
Until next time!
Stay tuned for future instalments of this series or sign up to our eNews for more digestible data on the Canadian book market.
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