SUMMARY: Key healthcare trends like exercise snacks, dieting by addition, yoga therapy, and DIY healthcare start putting overwhelmed consumers back in control as CEOs of their own wellbeing, reports Leslie Nolen of The Radial Group.
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Dallas,
Texas
(PRWEB)
August
30, 2010
The
Radial
Group's
new 2011
Health
and
Wellness
Insider's
Guide to
Durable
Trends,
Fleeting
Fads &
Innovative
Ideas
identifies
healthcare
trends
which
offer
fresh
opportunities
for
health
and
wellness
businesses
in 2011
and
beyond,
announced
Leslie
Nolen,
president
of The
Radial
Group.
Says
Nolen,
whose
firm
provides
marketing
services
and
profit
strategies
to
health
and
wellness
businesses,
"Self-care,
DIY
healthcare
trends,
back-to-basics
fitness
and
Lifestyle
Change
2.0
trends
put
consumers
back in
control
of their
own
health
and
wellness
despite
information
overload
and
increasing
complexity."
The
Health
and
Wellness
Insider's
Guide
discusses
fitness
trends,
nutrition
trends
and
healthcare
trends
plus
conventional,
complementary
and
alternative
healthcare
trends,
obesity
and
diabetes,
and
longevity
and
aging.
Selected
healthcare
trends
include:
1)
Health
mandates
Public
health
recommendations
represent
science
mixed
with a
large
dollop
of
organizational
influences.
As a
result,
public
health
guidelines
lead or
lag the
best
science
-
they're
rarely
aligned.
Yet
public
health
recommendations
will
evolve
into
mandates
as
obesity
and
diabetes
concerns
rise.
Examples
include
junk
food
taxes,
sodium
restrictions
and
restaurant
calorie
disclosure.
2)
Medicalization
...of
everything,
including
fitness
and
nutrition.
Exercise
prescriptions,
yoga
therapy,
nutrigenomics,
'farmaceuticals'...and
on and
on.
When
nearly
every
activity
is
labeled
either
'Healthy'
or
'Unhealthy,'
new
pressures
surround
consumers
and
burden
previously
simple
pleasures.
Even a
Fourth
of July
picnic
poses
challenges:
Are the
kids
adequately
hydrated
(previously
known
simply
as
'thirsty')?
Great
burgers!
Um, what
about
carcinogens
from
grilling?
Will
that
sunscreen
cause a
Vitamin
D
deficiency?
3)
Information
overload
Consumers
face a
baffling
wave of
ever-changing
data
plus
conflicting
recommendations.
For
example,
experts
disagree
about
how best
to lower
cholesterol,
and
whether
cholesterol
is even
the
right
target.
As each
day
passes,
they
feel
less and
less
capable
of
uncovering
that
coveted
mix of
health
and
wellness
services
that can
truly
address
their
problems.
4)
Healthy
skepticism
In a
world
where
dietary
fat's
suddenly
okay
again,
doctors
don't
routinely
wash
their
hands
and
anyone
can
declare
himself
a
wellness
coach,
who can
blame
people
for
viewing
'healthcare
experts'
cynically?
The
result:
surging
consumerism
led by
'healthy
skeptics'
who
increasingly
apply
the
habits
of
prudent
consumers
to
healthcare
and
wellness
-
checking
out
certifications,
patient
reviews,
and
conflicts
of
interest,
asking
uncomfortable
questions,
investigating
treatment
alternatives
and
side-effects.
The good
news:
consumers
will be
exceptionally
loyal to
trusted
advisors
who help
them
navigate
this
morass.
5) Back
to
basics
The
predictable
response
to
complexity
and
uncertainty:
getting
back to
basics.
For
fitness,
nutrition
and
healthcare
trends,
that
means
simplicity
and
self-reliance
over
complexity:
functional
fitness,
naked
labels,
simple
home
cooking,
gardening,
whole
foods,
and
non-drug
non-surgical
complementary,
integrative
and
conventional
healthcare
trends
like
acupuncture
and yoga
therapy.
6)
Self-care
Alarming
obesity
and
diabetes
increases,
rising
healthcare
costs,
limited
access
to
conventional
healthcare
and
dissatisfaction
with its
results
intensify
the
pressure
on
consumers
to
become
'CEOs of
their
own
health
and
wellness.'
It's a
big job:
they've
got to
figure
out how
to
enhance
and
preserve
their
wellbeing,
prevent
illness,
control
chronic
health
issues,
seek out
curative
care,
and find
comfort
at the
end of
life.
Self-care
drives
new
healthcare
behaviors,
like
diagnosis
by
Internet,
new
complementary
and
alternative
healthcare
trends,
even
'undoctored
by
choice'
consumers.
7) DIY
health
and
wellness
There's
some
good
news for
overwhelmed
consumers
plus a
boost
for
self-care
and
self-efficacy:
the
message
that
small-step,
do-it-yourself
wellness
actually
works.
In fact,
research
supports
big
health
benefits
from
comparatively
small
changes
- like
exercise
snacks
or
dieting
through
addition.
Yet
information
overload
makes it
impractical
for many
consumers
to truly
embrace
this
healthcare
trend.
Wellness
businesses
will
therefore
respond
to this
healthcare
trend by
integrating
the
functional
silos of
fitness,
nutrition,
mind-body
and
healthcare:
8)
Lifestyle
Change
2.0
Lifestyle
Change
1.0 -
'Eat
less,
move
more' -
was a
dud.
Successful
lifestyle
change
requires
actionable,
individualized
counsel,
not
superficial
'one
size
fits
all'
advice.
Nolen
points
out that
"Consumers
don't
want to
buy
'exercise'
or
'nutrition'
or
'diets.'
They
want to
buy
solutions
for
problems:
How can
I feel
great
every
day? How
can I
manage
my
diabetes
without
drugs?"
The
healthcare
trends
explored
in the
Health
and
Wellness
Insider's
Guide
also
fuel
Nolen's
vision
of 'The
Wellness
Business
of the
Future',
available
upon
request.
Preview
all the
healthcare
trends
plus
fitness
trends,
weight
loss,
diet and
nutrition
trends,
diabetes
and
obesity
trends,
and
longevity
and
aging.
The
Radial
Group,
headquartered
in
Dallas,
TX,
provides
marketing
services
and
strategy
consulting
for
health
and
wellness
businesses
ranging
from
sole
practitioners
to
well-established
national
brands.
Radial's
free
weekly
Health &
Wellness
Business
Advisor
provides
business
tips
tailored
to
health
and
wellness
businesses.
###
Contact
Information
LESLIE
NOLEN
The
Radial
Group
http://www.radialgroup.com
972-851-0098