Too often, calls to improve global health and wellbeing fail to lead to concrete actions. GWI seeks to improve global wellness by both inspiring and facilitating meaningful change. The Wellness Policy Series aims to spark conversations about promoting wellness, and to provide specific guidelines for achieving this goal. The Policy Toolkits are roadmaps with detailed directions for bringing wellness to all communities. Each toolkit focuses on a different wellness topic, like physical activity or mental wellness. And in each one of them we explain how they can help anyone—from governments to companies—turn ideas into action. GWI’s research team will discuss wellness policy and the toolkits in an upcoming webinar on April 2. Register HERE. READ MORE
A large new study has reexamined the longstanding environment-vs-heredity debate, and came down firmly in the environment camp. Based on robust medical data from 490,000-plus people, all registered with the UK Biobank, the researchers studied the influence of genetics and over 100 environmental and lifestyle factors on the risk of 22 diseases that make up most of the major causes of death. They analyzed 25 environmental and behavioral exposures that contribute to disease and biological age, including income, neighborhood, employment status, marital status, education and diet, as well as whether people smoke or exercise regularly. To cover the genetic side, they analyzed people’s genomes, looking for markers associated with the 22 key diseases. The results were striking and make a strong case for preventative health and wellness. Environment and lifestyle accounted for 17% of people’s disease-related risk of dying, compared to just 2% for genetics.
A new study from the University of Virginia examined the relationship between aerobic fitness, body mass and longevity. It was the largest, most thorough study on the issue to date, analyzing a vast amount of earlier research. It found that being out of shape doubled or tripled the risk of dying prematurely, whatever a person’s body mass index or age was. It also found that if someone had obesity but was aerobically fit, that person was about half as likely to die young as someone whose weight was normal but their aerobic fitness was low. ACCESS THIS STUDY on exercise.
79% of adults and 88% of children with obesity and overweight will be living in low- and middle-income countries by 2035. Only 7% of all countries have adequate health systems in place to deal with this.
Source:World Obesity Atlas from World Obesity Federation, March 2025
Global Wellness Institute, 333 S.E. 2nd Ave, Suite 2045, Miami, Florida 33131, United States
