The Big Business of Health and Wellness
Love handles, a spare tyre, middle-age spread. Throughout nearly all of human history, food was in short supply and carrying an extra layer of body fat was a sign of good health and prosperity. Until fairly recently, a bit of blubber remained a status symbol in much of the developing world. Times have changed.
While some 125 million people today face chronic food shortages, the health and capital costs of overeating (and lack of exercise) are far higher. According to the World Health Organisation, 65% of the global population lives in countries where being overweight kills more people than being underweight.
In the United States, the world’s fattest nation, an estimated 300,000 deaths per year are attributable to obesity. The healthcare cost of all that extra weight is estimated at some $210 billion annually.
Little surprise, then, that thin is in – supporting the growth of a global health and wellness industry now valued in excess of $4 trillion.