If a decade ago the answer to any physical, mental or emotional pain was to take some kind of medications, today, you will be hearing a lot of “you should meditate,” you are what you eat” or “exercising is the key to a healthy body”. And, the thing is that all these statements couldn’t be any truer.
The wellness industry is the first to redefine the way people deal with their health problems. Instead of encouraging people to take medications for their health conditions, the wellness industry has a more holistic approach, encouraging us all to maintain our bodies and minds healthy through exercising, healthy diet, and mindful meditation.
According to data from Statista, the wellness industry in the UK valued over US $25 billion in 2018. Moreover, according to the analytics firm GlobalData, it is expected that the British consumers will spend on average $625 per head on wellness products or services by 2022.
Let’s explore different perspectives on how the wellness industry has truly started a trendy revolution of being healthy.
Quick facts about the wellness industry
Before we dig deeper into how the wellness industry succeeded to change perceptions worldwide, let’s see some quick facts about the extent of the industry globally.
- The global wellness value was estimated at about $ 4.2 trillion in 2017
- From 2015, the global wellness industry grew by 6.4% annually (IMF)
- The total spending on wellness products and services account for more than half as the total global health spending. (WHO)
- The wellness tourism market sector valued $639 billion in 2017 and it is expected to reach over $919 billion by 2022
- The wellness real estate sector represents about 15% of the total annually construction market globally
- The workplace wellness sector is expected to reach $66 billion by 2022.
A leader in mobile app development
The wellness and the technology industries seem to do a great team when working together. In fact, technology is set to accelerate the growth in the wellness sector with thousands of wellness apps and fitness-monitoring wearables.
Currently, there are over 250.000 health and fitness apps on major app stores that are designed to help with mental health, diabetes management, obesity, nutrition, exercising, and more. The wellness mobile application market has grown so rapidly over the last few years that it has reached an estimated worth of more than $4 trillion.
The wellness industry has become one of the leaders in mobile app development thanks to the consumers’ preferences as well. According to studies, the usage of health and fitness apps has grown by 330% over the last three years, meaning that consumers also prefer to have health and fitness guidance at their fingerprints as well. Data shows 73% of wellness app users download fitness apps because they want to lose weight while 21% of users use wellness apps for general health improvement, be it mental or physical health.
Wellness in the office is all about good employee experience
The wellness industry seems to have also joined the corporate landscape. In today’s modern office, employee satisfaction is more important than ever before as business leaders have understood that happy employees make happy customers.
The most popular practices when it comes to bringing wellness into the corporate scene are bringing fitness and mindfulness practices to help employees maintain their overall wellbeing. However, since there is no one-size-fits-all program when it comes to corporate wellness, these can be tailored to fit the needs and culture of any company or organization.
Other popular practices included in corporate wellness include on-site fitness classes, meditation and yoga sessions, chair massage sessions, holistic rehabs, and even fun but therapeutically activities such as rescue puppy visits or dance classes.
Is the weight loss industry part of the wellness revolution?
The weight loss industry tends to get a bad rap globally, not just in the UK. People argue that the weight loss industry is against “body positivism” by encouraging people to struggle to reshape their bodies instead of accepting the way they look. However, despite the bad rap of the weight loss industry, data from the World Health Organization shows that it is more necessary than ever before. Data shows that our world is currently facing an obesity and health crisis with more than 1.9 billion adults being overweight and another 650 million being obese.
Obesity is nowadays a public health concern in the UK as well as it is a disease that increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. So, the weight loss industry is now essential as a response to this crisis.
But is the weight loss industry now part of the wellness revolution? Absolutely! The weight loss industry has joined forces with the wellness industry to help people maintain optimal body weight in a healthy way. Not only that we are seeing a wider range of healthy nutritional trends driven by celebrity chefs, fitness influencers or social media which are all now embracing the wellness revolution at full force, but we can also see a number of diets that have scientific grounds.
For example, the new buzz in the healthy weight loss approach is the ketogenic diet that helps your body burn fat instead of glucose and helps you healthily lose a few kilograms without having to take weight loss supplements or to starve. So, you will be hearing a lot of questions like “how to get into ketosis fast”, “what to eat on a keto diet” or “how to reach optimal ketosis”.
Moreover, gyms are also becoming more specialised too by helping people who work out improve both their body and mental health at the same time with yoga classes and mindfulness workout programs.
The wellness industry is defined by buzzwords such as “clean eating”, “mindfulness” and “wellness” itself these days. The trend is far from over and it is, in fact, projected to continue to grow at an even more rapid pace in the next few years.
