A first-ever study (just published in JAMA Psychiatry) compared medication to meditation for generalized anxiety disorder, finding the two methods work equally well at reducing symptoms. Half of the study participants were given an antidepressant commonly prescribed for anxiety (Lexapro), while the other half participated in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Both groups reported a 20% reduction in symptoms. Side effects were far more common…
The Complex Relationship between Money & Happiness: How Much Is Too Little, Too Much? By Thierry Malleret, economist MONEY, FINANCIAL WELLNESS AND HAPPINESS: An obvious link exists between money and subjective wellbeing (happiness), but only up to a certain threshold which economists and psychologists have a hard time precisely identifying. Anyone without money will corroborate that financial wellness is the conduit to other forms of…
GWI’s New Research: The First to Make the Case for Why We Desperately Need Wellness Policy GWI recently released its new report “Defining Wellness Policy,” the first research to make a compelling, evidence-backed argument as to why wellness policy is so direly needed now. It explains how a new focus on wellness policy could complement–but also fill the glaring gaps left by–both current public…
There’s a frightening new report about wildlife declines. But many are getting the story wrong – VOX, October 12, 2022 Wildlife is in a staggering decline. According to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, populations of most major animal groups (mammals, birds, and fish) have decreased by an average of 69% in the last 50 years. This “big” number highlights the severity of…
New White House Research: Poor Financial Wellbeing and Obesity Are Tightly Connected By Thierry Malleret, economist FINANCIAL WELLBEING AND OBESITY: The recent, historic “White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health” in the US may shift the public policy discourse on obesity more widely by highlighting the interconnected nature of financial wellbeing and physical wellbeing. They are largely one and the same, with new research…
Both sickness and health, it turns out, are contagious (Just like viruses, fitness and wellness fads such as Peloton and Zumba spread rapidly and then fade) – The Wall Street Journal, September 10, 2022 The analogies between Covid-19 and Peloton aren’t glib. A growing body of research suggests that health behaviors—from obesity to exercise and weight loss, from smoking to quitting smoking—are fundamentally contagious…
