From the good to weird, health experts on wellness trends of 2024 and 2025
Summary
From the popularity of wearables to bovine colostrum supplements going viral this year, three health experts pick their top trends for the year and more
It’s one thing to read articles that offer you a general overview of trends that dominated in the fitness or wellness space. It's another to hear about them from the horse's mouth: professionals like trainers, nutritionists and sports science specialists for whom fitness and health are a way of life. With a new year just a day away, Lounge got three experts in the field to talk about wellness trends they liked and felt perplexed by, self-care habits they started this year and what to expect next year.
‘Women's fitness will be at the forefront in 2025’
Shwetambari Shetty, fitness expert and founder of My Third Space, Bengaluru
A 2024 wellness trend you thought was good: Wearables! The number of people using them to track their sleep, training, heart rate etc. has spiked. This is great as it shows that people really want to track some foundational health parameters like sleep which are crucial for good health.
A wellness trend you thought was weird: Amura Health – a company that makes people lose weight by drastically cutting down calories and not allowing them to work out!
A new self-care ritual you started this year: Skincare. Nutrition, sleep and exercise have always been a priority but this year, I really put more effort into taking care of the largest organ in the body – the skin.
Wellness trendswe will see in 2025: Women’s health and fitness will be at the forefront. At my gym, My Third Space, 75% of our members are women, and the number of women interested in strength training continues to grow every day. There’s increasing awareness on the importance of good health among women, and as a result, their participation is on the rise.
Also read: 2024: A year when wellness synced with tech and mind-body therapy
‘In 2025, people will return to the basics’
Gauravi Vinay, ACSM certified clinical nutritionist and Cert lV allied health nutrition-dietetics, Bengaluru.
A 2024 wellness trend you thought was good: I wouldn’t single out a particular trend, but I truly appreciate how people have become more consistent in their efforts to stay healthy. They’ve gained knowledge, focused on their physical activity, embraced better eating habits, and tried to lead healthier lifestyles overall.
A wellness trend you thought was weird: Bovine colostrum powders and supplements – I’m still not sure how I feel about that one.
A new self-care ritual you started this year: Focussing on my mental health by drawing boundaries. And I have started to also focus a little bit more on my skincare both internally and externally.
Wellness trends we will see in 2025: A return to basics. That’s the foundation to good health. We’ll see a big shift towards people actually eating a balanced diet— making sure they include all the food groups in their meals.
Also read: 2024: The year where sports met AI met fitness
‘In 2025, make movement a habit like brushing teeth’
Deckline Leitão, exercise and sport science specialist, Chennai
A 2024 wellness trend you thought was good: I believe trends and fads work in clothes, fashion and designs. Our bodies, joints and organs don’t know whether it’s New Year, Christmas or Diwali. Long-term fitness and health enthusiasts therefore stick with consistent and simple ideas to maintain themselves rather than trying to hop on the latest trend bandwagon.
Various fitness fads will come in the future as well but what we truly need is a mixed approach to training that includes cardiovascular exercise, strength and flexibility training. Examples include running, walking, swimming for cardio. Lifting weights, bodyweight and bands for strength, and doing stretching exercises in yoga, Pilates along with other dynamic and passive stretches for flexibility.
A wellness trend you thought was weird: Any trend that focuses only on one aspect of fitness will always be weird and incomplete. And there are many that creep in over the years and fade away. Sometimes it’s the trainers and social media-obsessed people who come up with such trends to sound different. This also makes people become fanatical about one particular approach to fitness rather than a holistic approach. Truth is that the human body hasn’t changed over many centuries and common sense fitness approaches hold true over publicity stunts anytime.
A new self-care ritual you started this year: The one new thing that I’ve started in 2024, and am quite hooked onto, is simple walking in the open. Previously, I was more focused on doing hard boxing and kicking drills on the heavy bag, and maybe at a younger age, you get away with it. But as the body matures it’s important to incorporate ways which will make your body last longer as our recovery abilities diminish. According to Attention Restoration Theory walking outdoors can be beneficial for us. This theory suggests that looking at nature allows our mind time for recovery and reflection by doing what’s called ‘soft fascination’, which is easy on our senses. On the other hand, watching television, mobile phones etc. is called ‘hard fascination’ as it utilizes our complete mental involvement and leaves us more fatigued mentally.
Wellness trends we will see in 2025: In 2025, there will be more apps and fads that will come and go. People need to learn to rather move and act like how they brush their teeth or have showers. Gadgets won’t make you move. Also data provided can become confusing and irrelevant as the human body goes through fluctuations on an hourly and daily basis. My take? Instead of following a trend to see results in the near future, plan for the long-term in fitness.
Deepa Natarajan Lobo is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru.
Also read: The joy of finding a notebook-diary to plan the new year
