The $828 billion global physical activity sector, while enormous, is currently only engaging about one-third of the world’s population. According to The Lancet, one-quarter to one-third of adults around the world are not getting sufficient physical activity by any method (via natural movement or recreational activities). The large and growing share of the world’s population with insufficient physical activity represents a major ongoing public health…
It is surprising that the wellness industry hasn’t paid more attention to endocrine disruptors—a “silent killer” of wellbeing for humans and the planet. Endocrine disruptors (and more specifically EDCs—Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals) are linked to numerous adverse health outcomes such as alterations in sperm quality and fertility, abnormalities in sex organs, early puberty, altered nervous system function and immune function, certain cancers, and respiratory problems—both in humans…
The sharp global deceleration of population growth is an under-appreciated yet critical phenomenon for long-term investors and business leaders—and certainly crucial to the future wellness industry. While this is primarily driven by social choice, endocrine disruption (that has caused a 50% decline in sperm count over the past 50 years, plus soaring miscarriages) is also an important contributing factor. Now COVID has added another…
There are numerous pathways to mental wellness, many of which are known to us but often seem like an impossible to-do list. In GWI’s report Defining the Mental Wellness Economy, we segment them into four broad categories: 1) activity and creativity, 2) growth and nourishment, 3) rest and rejuvenation, and 4) connection and meaning. These domains have mind-body and internal-external dimensions, although their boundaries may…
COVID-19 is forcing us to see our homes, neighborhoods and our built environment in a new light. We know that COVID hospitalization and death risks are highly correlated with where we live and the corresponding socioeconomic conditions. Our homes may normally be sanctuaries where we can relax, sleep or entertain, but now they have also become our primary places of work, study, play, exercise, creativity…
The timing of the “end of COVID” will be a determining factor in the strength of the recovery. In the UK, the OECD country whose vaccine rollout is so far the most advanced, the Prime Minister’s roadmap expresses the hope that if all goes to plan, June will see a “return to normal.” For reasons on which we expand in our recent book, COVID-19: The…
