Although research shows that Hula Hooping dates back to as far as the Egyptians, in 1958 an American based company called Wham O manufactured the first plastic coloured hoops. This year marks 50 years of the Hula Hoop as a toy. Sadly one of the co-founders of Wham O died on 18th January 2008.

As a child at school I could never use the hula hoop no matter how hard I tried. However the difference between the kiddies hoop and the hoops that are use now is that they are weighted.

The hoops come in various sizes and because they are bigger and weighted they are actually easier to use than the kiddies ones. So the bigger the hoop, the slower it rotates around your body, which means anyone can hoop if they try.

"Hooping" is a term for hula hooping with large customized hoops. 

As with many of the fitness crazes, this started off in the States where they have a large community of Hula Hoopers.

Slowly but surely this form of fitness will take off in a big way in the UK. There are already many fitness centres that offer Hula aerobics as a fitness activity across the country as well as Independent Hula Hooping instructors like myself.