2020 Health & Wellness Outlook
The wellness industry has exploded. It is estimated that over $4.2 trillion in goods and services are purchased under the wellness category last year alone. Yet, 75% of what is spent on health care goes towards chronic disease.
Can you believe 80% of older adults have at least one chronic disease, and most have at least two? Yes, you can because you see the ads on TV for all these chronic disease management pills. The pharmaceutical companies and your conventional doctor believe you won’t make lifestyle changes so they produce and prescribe pills to address the symptoms. BUT, the root cause of chronic disease is lifestyle! For the most part, the bottom line is that give you body what it needs and take away what cause it inflammation and you won’t have chronic disease in the first place. But, we have to do the work of changing our habits.
And, although global life expectancy has steadily risen, it has DECREASED in the U.S. in the last three years. So, despite Americans spending more and more on wellness, we are sicker than ever and dying earlier. This means that if we really want to live longer and healthier lives – we have to do something! Americans have to step up and be proactive in their own health and quit relying on pills that address the symptoms.
Science has now proven the things we already knew about being healthy. We have to:
• eat better
• move more
• stress less or manage it better
• get to bed
• simplify our lives
• and have meaningful interactions with others.
None of this costs more! In fact, it costs LESS!
Health is not a magic pill or a special shake. We just need to do the basics and establish healthier habits overall. But, how do we do the very things we know we SHOULD do?
2020 Health Trend
I believe the trend in 2020 will be health coaching because it gets us back to the basics of health! We have virtual workouts, fitness trackers, virtual doctor visits, apps and more all at your fingertips. Now, even health coaching is virtual. No need to drive and meet, just pick up the phone or meet virtually.
Even insurance companies are seeing the benefits and are hiring health coaches and created new CPT codes for health coaching. They know they can lower their costs if they can get people doing the basics they should be doing. People have tried on their own. Just knowing more information about their health isn’t the answer either. People need to have internal motivation in order to stick with their healthy habits. Health coaches tap into this and walk along side people as they start making these changes. It isn’t a quick fix – but nothing is! It is a process. People wax and wane in their motivations – this is normal. So, regularly checking in with a health coach helps you:
• stay plugged into your motivations
• see the big picture when you start to slack off
• reminds you it is normal
• reminds you of your strengths so you can find solutions to roadblocks
• reminds you of why it is important to you
• adjust and adapt their plan as you go
• brainstorm new options as life changes occur
• navigate the relational aspects of change – because you don’t live in a bubble
• come up with solutions when you’re stuck
• feel like you’re not alone – because you won’t be
• keep trying – and that is what matters most!
This is what makes lifestyle changes work. Health coaching makes you feel like you have someone in YOUR corner helping you along the way – because you do! Eventually, you’ll be incorporating healthy habits on your own. Until then, there is a health coach waiting to walk with you.
Other trends for 2020 include better stress-management techniques and self-care. We are more spent, exhausted, stressed-out and disconnected (despite technology) than ever before. And, we are starting to realize it. A health coach can help you prioritize self-care, find ways that work for you and teach you stress-management techniques. Hey, just hiring a health coach for yourself is a form of self-care!
New Era
This is the wellness trend for 2020 and beyond. We are on the cusp of a new era. Sure, there will be advances in medicine that will continue to support chronic disease management. But, do you only want to manage it? Or, do you want to address the building blocks of health by addressing the root cause and head it off before it rears it’s ugly head?
If you’ve ever considered a health coach, now is the time! Schedule a free 30-minute call to talk about your health situation, where you’d like it be and find out more about how health coaching could support you.
Be a trend setter – it could totally change the trajectory of your life!