New GWI Research: Surprising Relationship between Wellness Tourism and Spa Spending and Health Outcomes The GWI’s new report, “Health, Happiness, and the Wellness Economy: An Empirical Analysis,” is the first global study of how spending on wellness (at both the national and sector level) impacts happiness and health outcomes. A collaboration with a key author and statistician of the World Happiness Report, the study…
Happy Holidays and a Bright New Year! At this time of reflection, we wanted to share insights from the GWI’s new research report, “Defining Wellness Policy,” that summarize the crucial ways that wellness has positively changed the world. The explosion of wellness into a multi-trillion-dollar economy has generated an ever-increasing array of criticisms of the “wellness-industrial complex.” Critics complain about wellness businesses preying on consumer…
Explore the CULTURE chapter of the new series IN PURSUIT OF WELLNESS: THE ART & SCIENCE OF LIVING WELL This extraordinary new series of films and stories produced for the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions explores wellness in a new way: its importance in every aspect of our lives, the science behind both ancient traditions and modern innovations, and the inspirational pioneers…
Healthy aging for a healthy economy– CEPR, November 16, 2022 Having just crossed the eight billion population threshold, we mustn’t forget that global aging is the primary challenge we collectively face. As healthy aging promotes healthy economies, policy preparedness must focus on: (1) initiatives that facilitate disease prevention and early detection, (2) wider reliance on innovative healthcare technologies, (3) retirement and pension flexibility, (4) development…
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…
