There are an ever-growing number of research reports from global economists that go far beyond the limited metric of GDP to gauge nations’ overall happiness and wellbeing. These studies all use somewhat different measurements, so rankings can vary. And because this research is giving us a clearer, deeper picture of the true health and wellness of people in countries worldwide, the GWI has created a…
The 2019 World Happiness Report was just unveiled and, once again, Northern European nations prove that they are out in front in cracking the happiness code, with eight of the top 10 happiest nations hailing from the region: 1) Finland, 2) Denmark, 3) Norway, 4) Iceland, 5) Netherlands, 6) Switzerland, 7) Sweden, and 10) Austria. New Zealand and Canada took the #8 and #9 spots.…
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION A new US survey sheds some light on how our work generally impacts our wellbeing. In the country that is the keenest about wellness (the US) and in the socioeconomic group that is the most invested in it (the affluent, upper-middle class), new data reveals that a surprisingly high percentage of individuals are miserable at work. According to a survey…
A large, new study from Harvard’s School of Public Health found that drinking sugar-heavy beverages (whether sodas or fruit drinks) was associated with early mortality. One extra 12-ounce serving of a sugary drink daily was linked to a 7 percent increased risk of death overall and a 10 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. One researcher noted: “The optimal intake of these drinks…
Switzerland’s Gottlieb Duttweiler Insitute, a leading future-forecasting think-tank and a Global Wellness Institute™ (GWI) research partner, will hold a conference May 10 in Zurich called, “Eternity Now: Wellbeing and Beauty Retail Reimagined.” A provocative lineup of speakers will tackle this topic from Marcia Kilgore (founder, Bliss-Labs, FitFlop, Beauty Pie, etc.) to GWI research partner, Anjan Chatterjee (Professor of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, author…
A large, new meta-review of 108 randomized controlled trials (23,000 participants) from the very stringent Cochrane Database found that exercise requiring standing up and not sitting is a very good way to reduce falls in the elderly. Tai chi, for example, reduced the rate of falls by 19 percent. The researchers summarized as follows: “We’re very sure that starting an exercise program will reduce the…
