Gym Membership Syndrome: Why Adherence Is the Key Battleground in 2026

Every January, gyms fill with motivated newcomers, only for attendance to drop off a few months later—a pattern that offers a clear warning for healthcare as adoption of wearable health devices accelerates. Despite growing enthusiasm and bold ambitions, including a federal vision to bring health-focused wearables like smartwatches and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to every American within four years, access alone does not guarantee meaningful or lasting health improvement. Just as gym memberships fail without sustained engagement, wearables often lose users long before they deliver clinical value.

Real-world data show striking parallels. Roughly half of gym members quit within six months, and wearable adherence follows a similar trajectory. About 30% of users abandon devices and nearly 70% stop using health apps after initial engagement. Among people with chronic conditions—the group most likely to benefit—drop-off rates can reach as high as 98%. This underscores a critical truth for health plans approaching 2026: the real challenge is not device distribution, but long-term adherence.

CGMs illustrate this gap clearly. While pharmacy-based access has expanded availability, adherence remains weak, with one-year usage rates hovering around 48% for commercially insured patients and 64% for Medicare beneficiaries. In contrast, CGMs distributed through durable medical equipment (DME) channels—where education, onboarding, and follow-up support are stronger—see markedly higher adherence. Without these supports, health plans face a costly “leaky bucket,” investing heavily in devices that members stop using before benefits materialize.

To avoid this, health plans must rethink their approach. Sustained adherence begins at prescription, with clear expectations, tailored education, and immediate access to support. But onboarding alone is insufficient. Long-term success requires ongoing, human-centered coaching and proactive engagement that anticipates challenges and reinforces behavior change. This level of support depends on partnerships with organizations that can integrate device data, clinical records, social determinants, and engagement history to intervene before disengagement occurs.

As scrutiny around digital health outcomes intensifies, health plans will need to align incentives with retention rather than volume. Value-based models that reward sustained use, provider follow-up, and redesigned distribution pathways—potentially blending pharmacy convenience with DME-level support—will be key. In 2026, success will not be measured by how many people receive CGMs, but by how many are still using them months later and achieving better health outcomes. That shift—from access to adherence—is what separates “gym membership syndrome” from real, lasting behavior change.