Costly option: 'I don't spend a lot in the pub'

Ms McLaughlin, a security associate who manages fund managers' portfolios at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh, gets up at 4:50am to train for an hour from 6am, five days a week before work. She also has one-hour weekly exercise sessions with Mikey Mair, her personal trainer.

The facilities on offer include a 20-metre pool, steam and spa baths and a beauty spa.

She says her off-peak annual fee of 500 and the personal training at 360 for 11 sessions she has been taking since last July is "an investment in health".

"I'm from New Zealand and was very sporty. I used to ride race horses at home. But when I came here 15 years ago I did away with all the sport and really felt the effects of that.

"Before joining this gym I'd tried things like Weight Watchers but it didn't seem to work. But once I started having personal training sessions I saw the difference. Mikey really pushes me to the limits. When you work with a trainer you realise what your limits are.

"I lost 10 per cent of my body fat in six weeks and have lost a stone and a half in weight. I've been out with the girls over Christmas so I've been in the gym today because I've got a session later in the week and Mikey will really push me.

"It might look like I'm paying a lot but people do different things with their money and I don't spend a lot in the pub."