Exploring 2024's Wellness Trends: What's Changing in Health and Well-being?

Some of the biggest wellness trends of 2024 include:

Coupled with the latest technological advancements, particularly in wearable technology, the Internet of Things, and conscious design trends, many homes are more or less high-tech health hubs capable of catering to personalised physical and mental health and wellness practices.

This top wellness trend has also given rise to another trend known as wellness resorts and residences. These apartments offer a comprehensive and holistic approach to the occupants’ health and well-being, ensuring every aspect is considered.

Some of the touted features of these “well-residences” include biophilic designs, abundant natural lighting, air quality monitoring or water filtration systems, natural materials like wood and stone, renewable energy sources, and access to spas and wellness professionals.

However, cost, test accuracy, and consumer preference to visit hospitals make many hesitant to jump on this health trend. Despite the hesitancy, the global home healthcare market will be valued at $309.07 billion in 2024. It is projected to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate of 8.46% to reach $500.39 billion by 2029.

There’s a TikTok account of a man experimenting with how different foods affect blood sugar. He wears a continuous glucose monitor to show if the food causes a spike in his blood sugar, a way of proving how healthy a recipe is.

This example encapsulates how wearable technology is becoming more pervasive beyond smartwatches and fitness trackers.

Biomonitoring and wearable technology make it possible to track physical activities and record data on physiological and biochemical variables as the wearer goes about their daily life.

The need for proactive health self-efficacy and autonomy primarily drives the growth of this sector. The added health benefits of predictive intelligence that can “catch” the onset of certain diseases before clinical manifestation is also alluring to the average consumer.

Again, the 2019 stay-at-home period, which required more remote health management, encouraged this growth.

There are innovations in this sector that are poised to gain ground and expand the wellness space even further. Examples include wearables for cancer cell detection, heart disease detection, continuous temperature and heart rate monitoring for babies, and much more.

Wearable tech makers are also expanding their offerings to cater to a broader health and wellness market category, especially in the smartwatch category. For example, Apple and Fitbit have added more health-monitoring features tailored to older adults.

Another innovation in wearable technology is the Luminette Light Therapy Glasses. It is a patented, innovative health and wellness product that stimulates the same response from your body as the sun.

The Luminette Light Therapy glasses can improve sleep quality, reduce fatigue, and increase energy levels.

It is designed for maximum comfort and no restrictions; you don’t have to change your routine, as you can wear the Luminette while doing your regular day-to-day activities. 

Generative AI (genAI) has many potential use cases in the health and wellness space. Although it’s still an emerging area, it’s gaining prominence in segments such as customised workout routines based on fitness data and virtual therapists.

One of the factors driving the growth of genAI is the demand for personalised products and services.

GenAI offers tremendous opportunities in post-treatment monitoring and follow-up, routine information gathering, diagnosis, treatment, population health management, and improving health outcomes within the healthcare sector.

That said, there are significant concerns about utilising genAI. For starters, genAI relies on historical data and makes predictions on the premise that future conditions remain the same. Future conditions don’t always mirror the past, making specific predictions largely unhelpful.

Secondly, genAI needs unbiased and accurate data for practical, effective recommendations. Wearable health technology is still prone to challenges that cause delays or outright errors in data capture and synchronisation.

Additionally, genAI may not be very effective for high-risk, low-repetition tasks, especially in areas where errors have grave consequences.

At this moment, it is more prudent and safer to use genAI to create personalised workouts than to prescribe drugs unsupervised.

In 2020, consumers would choose a product because of its perceived cleanliness over its effectiveness.

Per the 2020 McKinsey Future of Wellness Survey, “30% of respondents said they would prefer natural and clean over effective when it came to dietary supplements, compared with 24% who asserted the contrary.”

This trend began to wane in 2022, with a modest number subscribing to the same sentiment. Many equally prioritised efficacy and how clean or natural the product was.

Today, we are observing a total reversal, with many consumers prioritising efficacy over the product’s perceived cleanliness.

For example, in 2024, 60% of respondents will choose a nutritional supplement based on its clinically proven efficacy compared to 20% in the same category.

For comparison, in 2020, this value stood at 30%, compared to 24%, in favour of cleanliness.

Potential reasons for this shift include the 2019 pandemic increasing the clamour for products that have proven evidence due to not wanting to take any risk with their health and overexposure to “natural and clean” marketing claims.

When asked who influenced their product decisions, seeing products in store (26%), recommendations from family and friends (25%), and recommendations from doctors (20%) were the top three answers from consumers.

Influencers’ grip on this industry continues to wane as consumers increasingly doubt their credibility. A recent survey puts this doubt in perspective. According to the survey, 42% of respondents who admitted they had purchased a product based on an influencer’s recommendation regretted that choice.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that in the survey we referenced above, posts from celebrities and posts from large-scale and small-scale social media influencers all scored a meagre 2%.

This is a significant drop compared to 2020. In 2020, 10-15% of consumers in the United Kingdom and United States stated they had made a health and wellness purchase due to an influencer’s recommendation.

According to a new report by the World Health Organization, there are “about 890 million adults living with obesity.”

With another report by the World Obesity Atlas (WOA) projecting that 1 in 2 people could have obesity by 2035, the weight loss category will continue to dominate the health and wellness market.

People will always search for the perfect weight loss solution. The traditional approach to addressing obesity has mostly been diet combined with exercise. However, 2023 saw the rise in popularity of GLP-1-inhibiting weight-loss drugs that provide 10-20% weight loss within a short span.

Drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound threaten health and wellness businesses such as gyms and personal trainers focused on weight management. The full scale of this disruption is still brewing, and 2024 will provide more insight into how these drugs will shape the weight loss category.

The wellness market maintains its growth trajectory. However, growth in specific segments outpaces others. Below, we outline the top areas in the wellness industry experiencing growth.

The world faces an ageing population challenge. According to the United Nations, the number of people over 65 is growing more rapidly than that of those under 65.

With ageing being one of the root causes of many chronic diseases, there’s been an equal focus on increasing healthspan alongside increasing lifespan.

Consequently, there’s been more demand for healthy ageing products and services.

There’s much clinical research in this area. The data shows that recent focus and emerging themes include gut microbiota, loneliness, frailty, and more.

We already shared data on the prevalence of obesity worldwide, so it’s easy to see why weight management remains top of mind for most consumers.

As many as 3 in 5 survey respondents reported trying to lose weight and nearly half of the same cohort considered trending weight loss drugs a “very effective” potential option.

That said, consumers from the United Kingdom and China are not as keen on these GLP-1 drugs. Only 30% of consumers from these nations consider GLP-1 drugs effective.

According to a report by Recurly, most consumers used gym membership to meet their 2023 health and fitness resolutions. Despite losing the top ranking to workout apps in 2024, many consumers still place a premium on meeting their fitness goals in the gym.

The findings from the Recurly report are similar to those provided in McKinsey’s Future of Wellness research. According to McKinsey, “consumers expect to maintain their spending on fitness club memberships and fitness apps.”

There’s been an increased consumer interest in improving their digestive health. Almost 1 in 2 consumers are seeking solutions that address gut health in 2024.

In countries like China and the United Kingdom, 80% of consumers consider gut health an essential part of their health.

2024 will see increased demand for gut-friendly foods, gut health supplements, products containing probiotics and cultures, and more.

There’s been less and less stigmatisation of sex, with people willing to drop restrictive old-age taboos and stigmas and embrace services and products that promote sexual satisfaction.

This segment is driven by growth in in-person and virtual education workshops, growing attention to female sexual health issues, and advancements in technology.

Sleep is a significant contributor to better productivity, good health, and wellness. Poor sleep can lead to varying degrees of physical and mental health issues.

The challenge is not that there aren’t enough sleep-related products; most are not equipped to help consumers improve sleep holistically.