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Health Check: Have we reached the peak of Wellness?

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Young woman choosing a health supplement

2020/09/16 GMT

Have we reached the peak of Wellness?

BBC World Service - Health Check, Have we reached the peak of Wellness?

Could doctors learn a trick or two from Wellness?

The Wellness industry is worth $4 trillion – so how can consumers separate the nonsense from practices backed by evidence? And will doctors adopt some of its methods?

Claudia Hammond continues her look at Wellness with its complex relationship with the medical profession. It can be hard to tell if scientific-sounding claims about supplements or mindfulness classes are supported by evidence. So the Berkeley Wellness Letter – aimed at helping to prevent disease and promote health since Dale Ogar and colleagues started back in 1984 – sifts through some of those claims. 

Doctors like paediatrician Paul Offit say adopting some of the 'touchy-feely' elements of Wellness could improve relationships with patients, harnessing some of its warmth and empathy. But he warns that accepting myths like taking mega-doses of Vitamin C to prevent colds is a waste of money – and may even cause harm.  

Twitter’s gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter often hears from women who feel modern medicine doesn’t cater for them – and who mistake repetition for accuracy, falling for some of the false claims made on Wellness websites. 

Cosmopolitan magazine Deputy Lifestyle director Ashley Oerman has watched social media influencers come and go – and wants to guide her own readers towards Wellness backed by evidence. 

The journalist Barbara Ehrenreich’s latest book reflects on how for many older, wealthy Americans Wellness is all about spending money to show you that you love yourself - part of a bid to outwit death itself.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Paula McGrath

(Image: A young woman choosing a health supplement. Photo credit: Tashi Delek/Getty Images.)

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