• Wellness Policies That Help Older Populations Stay Active
• How the Exposome and “Invisible Pollution” Impact Human Health––from Microplastics to PFAs
• Chronic Insomnia Linked to 40% Increase in Dementia Risk
• Must-Reads from the Wellness World: From a new study showing Gen Z has stopped going outside to how wellness resorts are pivoting to GLP-1s

Wellness Policies That Help Older Populations Stay Active

By Tonia Callender, GWI research fellow  

Whether it’s seniors hitting the dance floors in Belgium or Korea, older adult outdoor group exercise in China and Uganda, or senior gym programs in North America, more older adults are keeping physically active as they age. And yet, too many older adults have limited access to exercise facilities. What policies can engage more seniors in physical activity? GWI’s research team outlines programs to address the most common exercise barriers faced by older adults. 
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How the Exposome and “Invisible Pollution” Impact Human Health, from Microplastics to PFAs

By Thierry Malleret, economist

The UN Plastic Treaty talks that just took place in Geneva ended in failure, with petrostates (including the US) and petrochemical lobbyists preventing any agreement on the alarming issue of plastics in the environment. This despite rising research about how the exposome (the totality of environmental exposure across our lives) is increasingly negatively impacting our health. The science mounts on how microplastics (present everywhere, from our brains to breast milk), endocrine-disrupting forever chemicals (PFAS), air pollution, and ultra-processed foods are harming our health. “Invisible” pollution is simply everywhere.  

Individual action is key, but too much is beyond our control. All four “invisible pollutants” need far greater regulation, but such measures are in short supply because of companies’ financial interests. A telling point: in Geneva 234 oil, petrochemical and plastic lobbyists were present to ensure that no progress was made in curbing plastic production. Is it time for the wellness industry to speak more forcefully about these issues and perhaps lobby against the lobbyists? 

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Wellness Evidence

GWI’s website (www.wellnessevidence.com) is the only resource dedicated to the medical evidence for wellness approaches.

Dance therapy is the latest modality added to the site. Access it here.

Chronic Insomnia Linked to 40% Increase in Dementia Risk

A large, long-term study from the Mayo Clinic, tracking 2,750 adults (aged 50 and over) for an average of five and a half years, found that chronic insomnia leads to changes in the brain that result in a much faster decline in memory and thinking. Chronic insomniacs were 40% more likely to develop cognitive impairment or dementia over the study period than people that got good sleep. Participants underwent brain scans each year that measured two markers of future cognitive trouble: the buildup of amyloid plaques, and spots of damage in the brain’s white matter.

ACCESS THIS STUDY on sleep health.

Must-Reads from The Wellness World

Touch grass: How Gen Z stopped going outside and why it matters
–The Independent

What exactly are you eating? The nutritional ‘dark matter’ in your food
–The Conversation 

The last days of social media: It promised connection, but delivered exhaustion
–Noeme

At wellness resorts, Ozempic becomes part of the treatment menu
–Bloomberg

A STRIKING STAT:

For the first time, children with obesity outnumber those who are underweight. Since 2000, the number of underweight children has dropped from 13% to 9.2%, while obesity rates have nearly tripled from 3% to 9.4%. One in five children aged five to 19 years are now overweight, or 391 million globally. 

Source: UNICEF report, September 2025, data from 190 countries.