Well-care

Sick-care Evolves To Well-care. Health & wellness has emerged as a top priority — for all. Consumers are alert to the critical need to own their health destinies, but still feel like they’re climbing a mountain when it comes to being in control of their personal health.

Health has always been an ingrained part of consumer living, trending up and down with new diets, exercise fads and new warnings around disease-causing behaviors. But for the most part, our attention around health has historically been focused on reactive solutions — from losing weight to managing illness and solving acute problems. Health and Wellness as a lifestyle was typically reserved more for those who could afford the luxury (both cost and time) of things like organic foods, alternative medicine, 1-1 coaching, or specialized health diagnostics and programs.

Today, it’s clear that Health and Wellness as a lifestyle or mindset has reached a critical mass, with 54% of all respondents indicating health and wellness is a main focus area in their lives. But while plenty of products and services have emerged over the years to help identify what’s wrong — such as low levels of movement, inadequate sleep, risk of future disease — it hasn’t been as obvious how to close the loop and pursue pathways for improvement with lasting, tangible results. People are now grasping for how to make progress.

Of the respondents, 41% say they wish it was easier to achieve their health goals — listing health as more challenging to control than finances, work, school, and family & relationships. Some of the sharper tone towards craving personal health support may be grounded in this post-COVID era, in which consumers increasingly see the importance of taking their health pursuits into their own hands after years of feeling isolated and frustrated with traditional health establishments. This shift also has helped spur an explosion of personal health subcategories that are gaining consumer attention.

When participants responded about their regular health and wellness efforts, the range of activities that surfaced under this umbrella was very widely distributed: 54% of respondents said they take vitamins and supplements, 50% said they have a self- care routine, 21% said they actively track wellness and performance metrics, 12% do meditation/yoga and 10% engage in mental health therapy. When asked about their most important health and wellness goals, respondents stated their most pressing objective was losing weight, closely followed by feeling good about one’s body. What is notable is the significance of other holistic health goals like getting enough quality sleep, aging gracefully, managing stress, feeling more energized, and taking care of my mental health – all ranking similarly across consumer mindshare.

A boom in consumer health awareness has given way to a more dynamic mosaic of how we understand and evaluate our personal wellbeing. While largely positive and aspirational for consumers to strive for a more balanced, proactive approach to health, this evolution has also led many to feel overwhelmed, inadequate, and lacking agency with a growing list of health-related domains to optimize — and not enough time, money, or guidance to chart a path forward. There is now growing urgency for products, services, communities where consumers of all types can learn how to prioritize the areas of health that are most relevant to them, and make changes that build a foundation for better health and longevity.

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