Global Wellness Institute

The goal of the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) ongoing roundtables is to lead the “wellness conversations” the world most needs to have. And on the morning of July 15, the organization will hold an invite-only roundtable on the topic of “Redefining Workplace Wellness.” As discussion around this sector continues to heat up, this roundtable has attracted high-level leaders, from Dr. Michael Roizen, head of preventative medicine at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, to Emily Dery, head of the Global Health Track at the Clinton Global Initiative. Also in attendance will be the chief medical and innovation directors from companies like Johnson & Johnson, Virgin Pulse, Weight Watchers, Citi and Goldman Sachs. They will sit down to have an honest, wide-ranging conversation about the best way to move the workplace wellness concept forward in the future.

Economist Thierry Malleret argues that if the financial industry is often portrayed as the “villain” of the economy, in the world of wellness the “villain” has to be the food and beverage industry. For instance, in the U.S., during President Obama’s last three years, the big food and beverage industry spent a whopping $175 million to fight back new legislation that would tax soda or impose stricter nutritional guidelines. Read about how we’re entering a new “obesegenic” environment—and just how fat the world will get by 2030. And what an upside it is for the wellness industry at large.

Last week I attended a medical tourism gathering in Tampa, Florida. One thing surprised me—and frustrated me at the same time. Many of the speakers—in fact, almost all of the speakers—said something along the lines of, “We don’t have reliable figures.”  Really? Still? 

This month, the LA Times featured six articles on wellness travel, highlighting GWI research and including quotes from GWI Research Director Beth McGroarty: “Vacation time has become precious, and people can’t afford to feel more stressed, sicker and tired from them.” Read the full stories

The GWI has created one “go-to” report for wellness tourism, combining the first-ever wellness tourism market research released in 2013 with updated data released in 2014. Wellness tourism continues to be one of the fastest-growing travel categories: revenues expanded from $438 billion in 2012 to $494 billion in 2013—a 12.7 percent growth rate that was 40 percent larger than originally forecast.

Yes, it can! When we read stories, we draw on the same brain networks that are employed when we’re trying to guess at another person’s feelings, and studies show that people who read a lot of fiction tend to be better at empathizing with others (as well as sleep better and have lower levels of stress and depression). If we want to treat ourselves better, we can use “bibliotherapy”: an ancient practice that encourages reading for therapeutic effect.