Malleret looks into his highly informed crystal ball and sees both nice and nasty surprises ahead in 2015: from the U.S. economy continuing to improve, to China’s decelerating much too fast – to potential, devastating cyber-attacks, epidemics and climate disasters. And he “connects the dots” for the wellness industry with a big picture look at the most powerful wellness trends poised to unfold in the year ahead.
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN AUSTRALIA WHEN IT COMES TO WELLNESS?
From a groundswell of next-stage development in hot spring spas, to stem cell-based products gaining market share to fight conditions commonly seen “down under,” including hyperpigmentation and photo aging – find out what’s trending on the Australian wellness front…
RESEARCH STUDY ON WEIGHT LOSS
New Study: Gain in Body Mass Index (BMI) Carries Risks—Even if You Stay Within Normal Weight. Numerous studies have confirmed that being obese/overweight means a higher likelihood of cardiovascular (and other) diseases. But now a new study on 12,000 subjects revealed that even people who gain weight within acceptable BMI limits up their risk for cardiovascular disease and other adverse metabolic changes. The research is notable for studying such a large population, which was able to isolate the impact of BMI increases independent of factors like exercise, smoking and eating fatty foods.
IT JUST GOT MORE EXPENSIVE TO GO TO A SWISS SPA
Markus Brunnermeier and Harold James, Making Sense of the Swiss Shock, Project Syndicate, 17 January 2015 explain in a simple manner the implications of this week’s decision by the Swiss National Bank to abandon its peg to the €. It is “intensely” relevant to the wellness industry…
HAS YOUR COUNTRY GOT WHAT IT TAKES?
With news of the Slovenian government appointing a former CEO of a large wellness centre as the Minister for Economic Development, and the recent bugle call in The Huffington Post asking “Is This The Year Of The Ministry Of Wellness?”, the wellness tourism train has undoubtedly left the station!
GWI Barometer Excerpt Thierry Malleret (January 22, 2015)
In 2015, the Ubermodel–the“posterchild” for disruption – will multiply into a “million” different services, ranging from laundry (Washio) to shopping (Instacart), from chores (Task Rabbit) to parking (Luxe Valet) and so on. As a result, everybody is at risk of being “Ubered”, having to trade more freedom for more risks. Self-employment comes at the expense of a steady income and a decent social safety net, both progressively becoming a “thing of the past”.
