Social media is fueling enthusiasm for new weight loss drugs. Are regulators watching?– CBS News, April 18, 2023 An in-depth look at the non-stop hype (and even misinformation) around the new weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. And at how competition to claim a market that could be worth $100 billion a year for drugmakers alone has triggered a wave of advertising that has provoked the concern…
A small new study from the University of Victoria compared the impact of “green exercise” vs. the same exercise done indoors (in this case, a short walk). Using electroencephalography to measure the impact on cognitive function across almost all brain measures, exercise in nature proved the winner. It had a significantly bigger impact on memory, concentration and thinking speed. The researchers concluded that with growing…
China’s long, extremely restrictive lockdown was just lifted, and the return of mainland China’s outbound travel market is arguably *the* hottest topic in tourism. Finn Partners, with research consultancy Consumer Search Group, just released a study on more affluent Chinese consumers’ travel plans. First, they plan more overseas travel than their pre-pandemic pace: roughly half of them plan at least five trips this year. After…
Unriddling Happiness: Why “Gloomy” Finns Beat High-Spending Americans By Thierry Malleret, economist In the new World Happiness Report, the Scandinavian/Nordic countries—as always—dominate the top-ten list of happiest nations, with Finland taking the #1 spot again. But there are numerous countries (wealthy and highly developed) that simply don’t rank as high as one would expect. The US ranks 15th, the UK 19th, France is 21st, Italy…
GWI to Release First Wellness Policy Toolkit on Physical Activity April 14 The GWI’s new Wellness Policy Series was born out of a profound reality: the private wellness market and consumer action alone cannot bring wellness to all and address our global skyrocketing health crises. Public policy is essential to fill the gaps. The series includes seven forthcoming wellness policy toolkits (from healthy eating to wellness in…
In the most comprehensive review (2023) of global studies to date (1,097 trials, 128,000+ participants), University of South Australia researchers found that exercise should be the “first choice treatment” for depression, anxiety and psychological distress, as it improves symptoms 1.5 times better than both leading medications and talk therapy. Every type of exercise—from walking to resistance training to yoga—proved beneficial. The benefits were seen in every…
