Industry Issues/Trends Articles

Chances are that you, one of your friends or a client has adopted a gluten-free diet. In fact, that is reality—according to a recent poll by The NPD Group, a leading global information company, that showed about 30% of adults want to cut down or be free of gluten in their diets.

Corporate wellness is the “elephant in the room” in our industry. You can ignore it. You can dance around it and say it’s not your thing. Or you can embrace it. Learn to dominate in this fast-growing field by putting your skills and passion to work for workplaces. There is room for creativity, so don’t worry about what you know or don’t know, or about a lack of standard resources. Armed with the simple tips in this article, you can inspire real change in a workplace, impact your bottom line and grow your brand. It’s a Red-Tape Worldnewsletter_teaser: Corporate wellness is the “elephant in the room” in our industry. You can ignore it. You can dance around it and say it’s not your thing. Or you can embrace it.

The National Consumer Research Institute has come out with its list of the five top health trends. Dovetailing nicely with the 2013 menu trends on page 54, the institute studied health-related attitudes and behavior in the U.S. to formulate trends expected to make headlines for the rest of the year.

fponewsletter_teaser: It seems everyone has tried a detox diet these days. Although regimens vary, they generally entail a juice fast lasting days or weeks and often include a “cleanse” with limited food and/or “detoxifying” supplements.

Barbara Brehm-Curtis is a professor of exercise and sport studies at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she teaches courses in stress management, nutrition and health. Aside from writing about health- and fitness-related topics for more than 25 years, she has worked as a fitness instructor, personal trainer, lifestyle coach and fitness program director. She has received the San Diego County Medical Society Media Award and was a Maggie Award finalist for regular columns in Fitness Management, where she served as a contributing editor.

The Biggest Loser may hope to offer up big inspiration for its millions of viewers. But that inspiration doesn’t extend beyond the couch. A recent study suggests that the reality television program actually turns viewers off to exercise.

Serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is physically demanding, and military leaders have developed measures to ensure recruits are “mission-ready.” Unfortunately, a significant number of both first-time applicants and active military personnel do not meet this standard.

Want to help your client get the most out of her exercise session? Get her a partner, says new research. The purpose of the study, published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine (2012; 44, 151–59), was to see if there was an ideal scenario for motivating exercisers to intensify their workouts. To determine this, the researchers randomly divided 58 female subjects among three scenarios: solo exercise; coactive (exercising independently alongside another person); or conjunctive (exercising with a partner perceived to possess greater capability).

The simple act of walking offers myriad health benefits—reductions in stress, blood pressure and mortality, to name a few. Despite these benefits and the accessibility of walking, the majority of U.S. citizens do not walk continuously for more than 10 minutes in an average week.