Globally, More People Report Higher Wellbeing. Exceptions: North America, Western Europe, Australia & New Zealand

    According to the most recent Gallup survey on wellbeing (based on their Life Evaluation Index interviews conducted in 142 countries), more people globally report that they are living better lives, while also becoming more hopeful about the future, significantly more than they have in years. In 2024, a median of 33% of adults across 142 countries rated their lives well enough to be…

How Wellness Policies Can Promote Responsible Tourism

How Wellness Policies Can Promote Responsible Tourism By Tonia Callender, GWI research fellow   Wellness in tourism extends beyond a destination’s wellness businesses and services. It also involves protecting the wellbeing of the tourism workforce and the surrounding communities. As global tourism recovers from the pandemic’s impact, many destinations are feeling the strain of overtourism which threatens residents’ wellbeing, bringing noise, congestion and rising costs, while…

Must-reads from the Wellness World (July 22, 2025)

The Path Toward a Metabolic Health Revolution–McKinsey report  Their new report explores how the advent of GLP-1s has brought the treatment of obesity to the forefront of public attention. Nearly 900 million adults globally are living with obesity, a substantial risk factor for at least 20 diseases/conditions. The rise of GLP-1s is shifting the discussion of obesity from an intractable issue to a treatable medical…

Nightmares Linked to Rapid Biological Aging and Early Death

Nightmares Linked to Rapid Biological Aging and Early Death A 2025 study from Imperial College London, analyzing 183,000 adults and 2,400 children, found that those who had bad dreams once a week or more had shorter telomeres, associated with faster cellular aging. They also found that those who experienced regular nightmares were three times more likely to die before the age of 70 compared with those who did not––concluding…

The Wellness Generational Shift: The Young Value Wellbeing Over Wealth

The Wellness Generational Shift: The Young Value Wellbeing Over Wealth By Thierry Malleret, economist The unprecedented emphasis that younger generations place on wellbeing is a major paradigm shift, and one that suggests a very bright future for the wellness industry. All over the world, and especially in higher-income countries, younger gens have an appreciation very different from their parents of what success looks like. In…

Wellness Policies Can Combat Loneliness

Wellness Policies Can Combat Loneliness By Tonia Callender, GWI research fellow   Too often, those who experience loneliness and isolation suffer in silence and hesitate to ask for help. Physicians and psychologists have raised growing concerns about the lasting consequences of this trend. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Connection released its global report, From Loneliness to Social Connection, which highlights the…