Self-Care Apps Are Booming – TechCrunch, April 2, 2018
Millennials are obsessed with self-care and wellness, and new reports show that it’s paying off for the makers of digital wellness apps. The category is now seeing serious growth: For instance, in Q1 2018, the top 10 grossing self-care apps in the U.S. earned $27 million in worldwide revenue, with Headspace, Calm and 10% Happier being the top three.
The global economy is humming along at its fastest rate since 2011. However, a fast-expanding economy is not necessarily good news for every segment of the wellness industry. For instance, companies whose cost structure is heavily dependent on labor costs (resorts, spas, hotels) will likely have their margins squeezed as the economy grows.
Economists have long found that a major diet discrepancy exists between rich and poor, with the former eating healthier because they buy more fruits, vegetables and proteins. Most have argued that that’s because of the cost and availability of healthy foods, but a new academic paper on nutritional inequality shows that culture and habits, especially where you live, may play a much bigger role in unhealthy eating than previously thought.
Studies consistently show that happiness has an independent and powerful impact on physical health. So, with the GWI recently launching the Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease, the organization traveled to the United Nations in NYC on March 20, to get the latest insights from the annual World Happiness Report. A couple key findings: if you’re seeking happiness, you might want to emigrate to a Nordic nation – and the U.S. has taken an “alarming” recent dive in happiness.
A new, large study from the University of Helsinki, analyzing young men and women who succeeded in managing their weight over ten years, found that trying to prevent weight gain by dieting and skipping meals actually accelerated getting fatter. The study found that eating regular and sufficient meals, refraining from dieting, and finding a more general sense of meaning in life were the key to long-term successful weight management.
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The GWI’s Initiative, the Global Mentorship Program (GMP), pairs seasoned professionals in the wellness, spa and hospitality industries with up-and-coming leaders for six months of one-on-one mentorship. And they’ve just launched an easy web application to match mentors and mentees: https://gmpapp.org/users/sign_up.
