New White House Research: Poor Financial Wellbeing and Obesity Are Tightly Connected

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…

A Fractured Wellness Market: Both Super-Expensive and Free, Simple Wellness Will Rise

A Fractured Wellness Market: Both Super-Expensive and Free, Simple Wellness Will Rise   By Thierry Malleret, economist HIGH-END WELLNESS: WHERE WILL IT END? The most recent Trendium from the GWI’s sister organization, the Global Wellness Summit, is about the post-pandemic surge in “super-expensive wellness”: the seemingly never-ending expansion of very high-priced wellness products and services that benefit the upper decile in terms of income and wealth.…

The Future of Workplace Wellness: Meaningful Approaches; Less Spending on “Programs”

The Future of Workplace Wellness: Meaningful Approaches; Less Spending on “Programs”   The GWI’s most recent report on the global wellness economy reveals that workplace wellness will be the slowest-growing future wellness category, estimated to expand from $48.5 billion in 2020 to $58.4 billion in 2025–a modest annual growth of 3.8%. Why does growth seem so slow at a time when employees are facing even more…

Trend: The Explosion of Fitness-Meets-Nature-and-Wellness Festivals

Trend: The Explosion of Fitness-Meets-Nature-and-Wellness Festivals  By Thierry Malleret, economist AN EXPLOSION OF FITNESS and WELLNESS FESTIVALS – We were well aware of book, food, cinema, music and many other breeds of festivals that punctuate the summer months, but we are struck by the recent boom in fitness-meets-wellness festivals, which are on a steep upward path in the Northern Hemisphere. These cool new festivals are,…

Gallup Research Reveals Peak Stress and Sadness Worldwide

Gallup Research Reveals Peak Stress and Sadness Worldwide  By Thierry Malleret, economist If the world broke many records in 2021–including record corporate profits and CO2 emissions–Gallup’s 2022 Global Emotions Report also reveals a historic high for negative emotions. The survey of people in 121 nations found that in 2021 levels of stress, sadness, and loneliness reached record levels (the highest since Gallup started tracking emotional…

The “Wellness Divide” between Low- and High-Income Countries Will Further Sharpen

The “Wellness Divide” between Low- and High-Income Countries Will Further Sharpen  By Thierry Malleret, economist As the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, just put it: the global economy is facing “a confluence of calamities.” The three main engines that drive it are sputtering simultaneously. In the European Union, because of the war and the supply shock inflicted by commodity prices; in China, because…