Trends in the Health & Wellness Industry
(Archives)

Traditional Medicines Do Work
Contrary to the claims of some of the self-appointed guardians of traditional medicine that herbal medicine is quackery, doctors have found scientific evidence supporting the use of traditional Ghanaian plants to help wounds heal.

Quacks no more: California enacts naturopathic licensing law
California has passed a law (S.B. 907) under which licensed naturopaths can call themselves doctors, diagnose and treat disease, perform physical exams and, in collaboration with a medical doctor, deliver babies and prescribe medications.

Prevention IS Cheaper
A new report shows that multivitamin use by elderly people could save up to $1.6 billion in Medicare over the next five years.

California Outlaws Ephedra Supplements
California has enacted a bill to ban the sale and distribution of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids for purposes of weight loss, body building, or athletic performance enhancement.

Fat and Fatter
Sell weight loss supplements? Well your market just ballooned. A new study revealed that the number of clinically severely obese adults is growing faster than any other group, quadrupling between 1986 and 2000.

Nanomedicine: The Next Frontier
Experts predict that new science of nanomedicine will play a vital role in achieving the federal government's goal of eliminating suffering and death from cancer by 2015.

1 in 3 Will Develop Diabetes: CDC
The CDC has crunched the numbers, and the result is alarming: It estimates more than a third of Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

Consumer Groups Fight Health Claims
Consumer groups Public Citizen and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) are suing the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), over its introduction of health claims qualified by disclaimers.

Antibiotics Not Working Anymore
Thousands could die because antibiotics are becoming ineffective.

Salmon Skin Diet
The Perricone Diet, which promises results in just three days, is the latest celebrity craze. It involves eating salmon three times a day for reducing wrinkles, sags and blemishes. High levels of omega-3 fatty acids in fish are known to make skin softer and clearer.

Dairy for health, says industry
US dairy associations are rolling out a new 'Healthy Weight with Dairy' advertising campaign next week to tout scientific research linking dairy consumption with reduced body weight.

Soyfoods growth - steady not sensational
Steady but unsensational growth is earmarked for soy products in the US with market analysts predicting a 5.4 per cent rise year on year to $8.6 billion in 2007.

Weight Loss Market Balloons
As the waistline grows, so does the bank balance of the weight loss industry. By 2007 spending in the US on weight loss products and services will hit $157.6 billion, up from $100 billion in 2002.

Sales of Functional Foods to Boom
The US functional food industry could almost double in value by 2007, according to a new report, which estimates sales of the health products will be more than $37.7 billion by 2007, compared to $20.2 billion in 2002.

New Guidelines for Sedentary Americans
The USDA will revise the guidelines to the daily food intake patterns which form the basis for the Food Guide Pyramid, in an effort to tackle the nation's ever-increasing obesity problem, while taking into consideration Americans' sedentary lifestyles.

What's Really In The Bottle?
ConsumerLab, which tests dietary supplements and herbal products for quality, has compiled its findings on supplements in the first guide to help people select the right products and avoid getting hurt or ripped off.

Kids Get Less Antibiotics
A study found that doctors are giving fewer antibiotics to U.S. children than they did in the mid-1990s, reversing a 20-year trend.

Relora Granted Patent
California-based Next Pharmaceuticals has been issued a patent for use of magnolia extracts, a key component in the company's anti-stress ingredient Relora.

Health & Wellness Industry Approaches $60 Billion in 2002
Despite challenges in the U.S. economy, The Natural Marketing Institute’s (NMI’s) Health and Wellness Trends Database (HWTD) - based on an annual research study of 2,000+ U.S. consumer households - reported sales of $59 billion within the consumer packaged goods health and wellness industry, representing 7.3% growth versus 2001. The 2003 Health and Wellness Trends Report, a 200-page research document, analyzes consumer attitudes, behaviors, product usage and demographics across a range of wellness categories.

Healthy Living: Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Specialty Supplements
This report gives marketers an in-depth understanding of consumer wellness behaviors with a focus on the dietary supplement category. Research indicates that consumer movement from the periphery to the core increases the likelihood of dietary supplement usage. Key drivers of supplement usage include nutritional needs, health conditions and aging.

Functional foods drive whey sales
Sales of whey products are growing as food processors look for a way of adding value and respond to the current health trend, finds a new report. The booming sports nutrition sector has had a significant impact on use of the dairy protein. Are perceptions of whey products as more than a milk powder substitute changing? According to a new report from market analysts Zenith International, yes, as processors increasingly looking for added value start turning towards whey products.

Making Claims for Bone Health
The European PASSCLAIM (Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support of Claims on Foods) recommendations have developed a framework tool for assessing the scientific support for claims relating to bone health and osteoporosis. Taking osteoporotic fracture as the health endpoint, the framework concluded that bone mineral density (BMD) is an intermediate marker of bone health which can provide evidence of enhanced function.

Weighing in on the Weight-Control Market
Consumer Trends: Food Technology, February 2003 • Vol. 57, No. 2
With 61% of adults overweight and 28% obese, and 13% of kids age 6–8 years and 14% of adolescents overweight, it’s not surprising that the weight-loss market has come back, big time! However, consumers’ motivations, practices, and demands for diet foods, beverages, and programs have changed, offering a myriad of new food-based solutions and repositioning opportunities, some with unexpectedly strong scientific support.

Selling Wellness Leads To Greener Pastures
Peter Leighton, Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals; November 2002 Issue
Consumers don't want to eat from their medicine cabinets, they just want foods that taste good and offer a health advantage. We eat foods for pleasure and socialization, and the data suggest that all other things being equal, consumers will choose one product over another if it can deliver an added wellness or enhancement benefit.

Survey Says: Americans Worried About Wellness
Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals; November 2002 Issue
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, created an unexpected fallout: Americans are now much more concerned about their health and wellness.

What Women Want
Shane Starling, Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals; November 2002 Issue
As women demand more from the foods and supplements they consume, producers are responding with a range of products to meet their needs at every stage of life.

Wellness Industry Top Trends for the New Millennium
Health Management News - December VOLUME 1 ISSUE 8
Increasing Need for Emphasis on Weight Management Programs

Insurers resist as patients choose 'alternatives'
The Business Journal of Milwaukee, May 6, 2003 (requires free registration) Advocates of alternative and complementary medicine say the practices reduce the overall cost of healthcare, but some in the insurance industry aren't buying it.

Newsweek: Food's Effects on Health
The Jan. 20 edition of Newsweek showcased a parade of articles discussing how Harvard's alternative to the food pyramid (which includes dietary supplements) and other points of interest in the world of food science may affect the future of human health.

FDA Allows Qualified Antioxidant/Cancer Health Claim
FDA authorized use of a health claim for antioxidant vitamins and certain kinds of cancer that was the subject of a petition to FDA. The claim reads: "Consumption of antioxidant vitamins may reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancer." The agency added disclaimer language and specific terms of use in its authorization of the claim.

FDA Allows Qualified Selenium, PS Health Claims
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized four health claims, with appropriate disclaimers, concerning phosphatidylserine (PS) and selenium. The first two claims, authorized Feb. 21, involve selenium and cancer. The second two claims, authorized Feb. 24, regard PS and cognitive dysfunction.

First Soy Health Claim Adopted In Europe
The approval of Europe's first generic health claim for soy products means that soy products manufacturers that sell products in the UK and meet certain criteria are now able to label their products with the claim, "The inclusion of at least 25g of soya protein per day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat, can help reduce blood cholesterol levels." The claim also can be used in UK advertising campaigns.

Sound Science Paves Way For First-ever Swedish Health Claim
Sweden's regulators have formally recognised a functional food for the first time by approving the country's first product-specific health claim for an innovative yoghurt, developed by the Swedish dairy group Skånemejerier, that contains oat beta-glucans as the active ingredient. The product can claim to "balance your blood sugar level and lower your cholesterol."

New Labeling Program Delivers Safety Information for Herbal Products
American Botanical Council's new Safety Labeling Program helps manufacturers put science-based safety information on herbal supplement labels. The Safety Labeling Program (SLP) is designed to help manufacturers provide a range of safety data on product labels for the benefit of both consumers and healthcare professionals.

Top 10 Health And Wellness Trends To Watch
Steve French, Natural Foods Merchandiser, June 2002
According to the Natural Marketing Institute's Health and Wellness Trends database, fundamental shifts imperative to strategic planning, opportunity analysis, new product development and many other health and wellness marketplace initiatives are becoming apparent. Find out what NMI's top 10 consumer trends for 2002 are.