Health and Wellness
Business Trends

Health and wellness business trends are building a whole industry and there are a great deal of new business opportunities.

While we're seeing more individuals live to very old ages, there is still remains the questions about the quality of life, serious questions surrounding the general overall health and wellness of upcoming generations, and how do we help young children/adults with obesity.

We're seeing the entire landscape of this industry continue to change due to many of the following factors:

• demographics
• current population health and nutrition (or general lack thereof)
• the rising obesity rates
• food supply becoming nutritionally questionable
• organic (more nutritious foods) in need
• children/adults lacking the appropriate healthy nutrients in their diets
• seniors living to very old ages
  

These questions and the demand for better quality of life will require more professionals who hav ethe ability to help individuals solve some of the health issues which are in epidemic promotions.

As we begin to see positive changes, there will also be demand for alternatives to maintain healthy lifestyles.  

Health & Wellness Overall Trends

1.      The Population is Aging, Coping With More Disabilities, And Is Living Longer

As you’re probably aware, the Baby Boomers represent 76+ million people who are aging and we are living longer.  In addition, we have veterans returning home from two wars with a variety of disabilities and may have lifelong health requirements.

As the first “consumer driven” demographic group, Baby Boomers have demanded dramatic changes to products/services throughout the various stages of their lives.  The next significant demands on the health and fitness industry will occur as Boomers continue to age and demand more creativity and innovation for dealing with health and wellness issues.   

In addition to the Boomers, we have a large volume of veterans returning home from two wars who will also require deliberate changes as we help to rehabilitate them after sustaining life altering injuries. Small entrepreneurs will have a very fulfilling role in aiding veterans to cope with their injuries and readjust to their lives after sustaining both physical/emotional injuries.

These two “perfect storms” are emerging at once and will provide tremendous opportunities for health and fitness businesses as they emerge and begin to stretch the current limits of what’s possible in the health and fitness industry.  

The sheer number of veterans and Boomers will re-shape the way we think about aging, disabilities and fitness trends as they become the catalyst for change. 

2.      Obesity Continues to Rise Along with Obesity-Related Health Conditions

We continue to see an increase in the numbers of overweight/obese individuals – both adults and children. The U.S. Center for Disease Control indicates 33.3% of the adult population is currently overweight and 35.7% are obese.

Take a look at this CDC report on "Self-Reported Obesity" in the U.S. and we're seeing epidemic proportions like no other time.  

More than 17% of children are considered to be obese with many being teenagers who are developing poor health and fitness habits as they lead into their adult years.  And this trend does not appear to be slowing or turning downward yet.

Obesity is the leading cause of many preventable diseases including heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers.  There are a variety of causes and no “quick fixes”, but new health and fitness businesses are needed to help meet the growing demand of consumers who are interested in changing the direction and make wellness much more common place.    

This is one of the main challenges for the industry and a terrific opportunity for starting your health and fitness business to help lead folks through the web of nutrition, health, and fitness options.

3.      Health and Wellness Are Becoming Part of the Lifestyle and Dialogue

The flip side of the obesity issue is the fact that 30+% of the population has a healthy weight and live their lives with wellness in mind. 

These individuals represent another significant portion of the population who work hard to maintain their weight/fitness. Quality fitness business ideas will grow exponentially by catering to the needs of this sector of the population.  

As a health and wellness business professional, you can provide grass root efforts to help children and adults become healthier.  Education and social groups focusing on nutrition, exercise, lifestyle choices are starting to emerge becoming more main stream than they were even a few years ago.

Employers are getting actively involved by implementing workplace health and wellness business programs recognizing a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.  This fitness trend will allow the small entrepreneur to identify a variety of potential options for a health and fitness business. 

Health and Wellness Business Opportunities

1.      Fitness Boutiques, Spa Services, and Special Therapy Options Will Raise Health Fitness Standards As They Become More Popular

We're witnessing a growth in options for obtaining health/fitness services.  Some of the different health and wellness business options already include special health "boutiques" focusing on specific types of fitness, spa services to make us look/feel good, and we're beginning to see more precise therapy options to aide individuals with injuries and disabilities. These types of businesses will continue to rise over the coming decade.

2.      Health and Wellness Businesses Will Improve and Find New Ways To Profit

Along the way, there are going to be terrific opportunities for health and wellness businesses to identify products and services where you can add or refine existing services to broaden our collective and/or individual knowledge in support of general overall health and wellness industry knowledge. 

This is the part I think is so fascinating since I believe the innovation will be phenomenal over the next 10+ years for business owners. Some of these may be online services including computer apps which allow individuals to track their own progress easily and in “real” time.  

3.      Individuals are Becoming Better Educated, Informed, and Want To Participate In The Conversation Regarding Their Health Options.

With the advent of higher education, the internet, and other health related materials; consumers are now seeking information at a higher rate and becoming better informed about their health and wellness options.

When my family/friends have an ailment, they jump on the internet to do their own research so they feel equipped to discuss their concerns with doctors and/or other health professionals. Gone are the days where the medical professional is the only educated person in the room.   

Health and wellness business professionals will need to be accepting and open to having this type of dialogue with patients who may have a valid concern and/or who will be able to partner with care providers to determine the best course of actions for them. 

In my experience, some health professionals find this type of dialogue threatening instead of using it as an opportunity to either educate or learn about research they may not be aware of. While patients may not always obtain correct information, they generally care about their health and this can be the start of terrific interactions to determine the overall health strategy. 

Nutritional Consulting

Massage Therapy

Challenges

1.  Identifying Solid Information vs. Fad, Poor, and “Well-Marketed” Health Information  

Health care professionals will have their work cut out for them as they are required to sift through a variety of data, information, and marketing materials to determine what is “real” and what is potentially marketing “hype”.  All types of start-up companies will claim to help people in this frenzied world and most people want the easy way to “take a pill” and make it all better.

It will be a challenging arena to discern which types of products or services provide true value and which are just not what they claim. This provides you with a terrific opportunity to service your clients and help them identify where and how they can achieve positive outcomes and avoid the wellness pitfalls.

2.  Keeping Abreast of New Up-to-Date Information in the Health & Fitness Arena

We're going to witness dramatic changes in health and fitness businesses.  The industry will change swiftly as more research is done, increased awareness of nutrition is established, better consumer products become available, and the demand feeds the supply for better alternatives in this industry.   

Health and wellness business professionals will be challenged to stay current on all of the different products/services available. As a professional in this industry (like many), you'll want to adopt a life-long learning approach to best help your clients and your business.

Diet Food Delivery

Health & Fitness

Business Ideas...

Online/Internet Business Ideas…