The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) recently took place in Mexico City (November 13-15), gathering the brightest thinkers from a diverse cross-section of industries to contemplate “Building a Better World.”
It was the largest, most cross-disciplinary Summit in its nine-year history, attracting 470+ delegates from over 40 countries. Many great minds from the medical (e.g., the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics, Harvard and Duke Universities) and workplace wellness worlds (e.g., Johnson & Johnson and Zappos) assembled.
“Passionate leaders from economics, medicine, government, technology, spa/wellness, travel, education and the arts came together to debate how to bring preventative health into our chronic disease and healthcare cost-burdened world,” said GWS Chairman and CEO, Susie Ellis.
During the course of the Summit, experts put together a list of “10 Shifts in Wellness in 2016.”
1. From Cracking the Genome to Cracking the Epigenome. We’ve had years of promises that “cracking” the human genome would eradicate all kinds of diseases, but experts like Dr. Deepak Chopra explained that the future is decoding the epigenome, that DNA which is ceaselessly modified by lifestyle choices and environment. Research is underway pinpointing the 20 or so genetic markers (out of 2,400) that are actually modifiable.
2. From Optional to Mandatory Wellness. Global economist Thierry Malleret did the math on the skyrocketing cost of chronic diseases ($47 trillion worldwide over the next 20 years, or 30% of GDP), and a world aging like never before (800 million people now over 60), and concluded that wellness can no longer be optional. More governments will take legislative action to require or reward healthier behavior. This isn’t a “maybe”, it’s near certainty: wellness tax incentives, and insurance companies rewarding healthy behavior will arrive by 2020.
3. From “In Your Face” to Imperceptible Wellness. Wellness has historically been something you “do.” The future is more wellness baked seamlessly into the fabric of our lives: dawn-simulating lighting waking you up gently (goodbye shrieking alarm clock); bed sensors monitoring your sleep, making instant ventilation/comfort changes; and responsive materials (using haptic technologies), including fabrics that cuddle us or clothes that deliver the perfect massage. The prediction? Even futuristic “living” buildings that monitor residents’ oxygen, stress and hunger levels to adapt homes in real-time—even ”growing” you a new room!
4. From Workplace Wellness “Programs” to Total Cultures of Wellness at Work. New Global Wellness Institute* research forecast that workplace wellness approaches will change radically: the current “program” mentality will die a natural death because they’re not working. The future is meaningful, real “cultures” of health at work, tackling everything from physical, to emotional, to financial wellness: fair pay, healthy workspaces, inclusion of families and virtual workers, and tackling fast disappearing work/life balance, like mandating vacations and that workers unplug from always-on, wired work.
5. From Medicine vs. Wellness to Truly Integrative Healthcare. Integrative medicine has been talked about for decades, but is finally happening. Medical leaders from the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics, Harvard and Duke agreed that now we’re at the real “inflection point.” Today every leading medical center either has, or is planning, a wellness/integrative center. And if doctors have always been reimbursed for treating disease, a future where they get remunerated for preventing it looks possible (as in countries like China, Norway, and Singapore). Medicine will incorporate more wellness, but the reverse will also be true. One example: the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program coming to the Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, Turkey in Jan. 2016.
6. Medical Technology Breakthroughs: from Ingestible Health Trackers to Stem Cells. Medical technology breakthroughs presented were mind blowing. Ingestible, health-tracking nanochips that monitor 50 biological functions 24/7 will make clunky wearables seem prehistoric, and usher in a new era of precision, preventative and personalized medicine.
7. Wellness Homes: Big Growth and Big Premiums for Owners/Investors More homes, communities and even cities are being master-planned from the ground up for human health. New examples: Mayo Clinic’s ambitious 20-year project to turn its base of Rochester, MN into a “City of Health” and Delos Living’s project to transform part of Tampa City, FL into a 40-acre healthy city. Wellness living is certainly good for people, and according to a panel of real estate developers, it’s also good for the bottom line. Preliminary numbers indicate very healthy investment returns: between a 5-35% premium on wellness-branded, single-family homes; a 7-10% premium for wellness rentals; and a 15-30% average daily rate premium for hotels.
8. From Superfood and Diet Trend Hysteria to Sane Eating. Given the recent, hysterical obsessions with the next superfood or diet trend, experts are suggesting that we may be experiencing a collective, global eating disorder. Nutritionists noted that what we eat has changed more in the last 40 years than in the previous 40,000. Superfoods are on a collision course with sustainability: our manic importation of chia seeds, quinoa, goji berries, etc. is disturbing global ecosystems. The future? Clean, sustainably sourced (from our own backyard), personally intuitive foods—and a welcome return to eating as pleasure. (Yes, you can skip the kale.)
9. Wellness Travel Booming: from Emerging Markets to New “Pairings” for Wellness. Omer Isvan (president, Servotel Corp) summarized: “Wellness will only become a bigger player in the destination resort space, while resorts without wellness and ‘purpose’ will decline.” In general, experts agreed that the heart of wellness tourism is the “transformational experience”: less about the destination, and more about how the experience alters a person’s mind, body and soul. Jean-Claude Baumgarten (former president, World Travel & Tourism Council) noted that because “wellness” can sometimes remain a hazy concept for travelers, that we’ll increasingly see it paired with every travel category imaginable: wellness and…“adventure,” “culinary and wine,” “cruise,” “cultural,” “safari”…you name it.
10. From Wellness for the Wealthy Few to the Democratization of Wellness. A powerful thread running through the Summit was the need to bring wellness to more members of society: the young and old, wealthy and poor, the healthy and ill. As Agapi Stassinopoulus stated in her wrap-up keynote: “It’s time to take wellness to the masses.”
- Conscious Capitalism: For companies and individuals, success will increasingly be measured not by net worth but by “net good.” Winning brands will be charitable, collaborative and creative.
- In Sickness and In Health: 40 percent of people will get some type of cancer in their lifetime, and the spa and wellness industries will finally start embracing and retraining for them—eliminating the fear of, and myths about, treating those with the “Big C.”
- Meditation and Mindfulness Go Mainstream: Nothing has been talked about more in recent years than mindfulness, but people will finally start practicing it because it’s about to become far more accessible and unintimidating. Even Weight Watchers International revealed that it’s expanding its focus from weight loss to total wellness, hinting that their weekly meeting-goers will be introduced to meditation.
- To Build a Well World, Focus on Children: Boutique fitness studios are rolling out myriad classes for children. Spas/wellness retreats are now increasingly creating serious wellness programming for kids: from healthy cooking classes, to yoga, to meditation.
* GWI’s “Future of Wellness at Work” research report, including employee surveys conducted with Everyday Health, will be released Jan. 2016.
About the Global Wellness Summit: The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) is an invitation-only international gathering that brings together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $3.4 trillion global wellness industry. Held in a different location each year, the Summit attracts delegates from over 40 countries. Summits have taken place in the U.S., Switzerland, Turkey, Bali, India, Morocco and Mexico City. The next Summit will be held in Tirol, Austria Oct. 17-19, 2016.
