Top 10 Health and Wellness Predictions for 2010
Published in Action & Fitness Magazine Jan-Feb 2010 issue
Well, we won’t be walking around trapped inside an anti-bacterial plastic suit like Jimmy Livingston in the movie Bubble Boy or in bulky astronaut suits to keep viruses away. Not quite yet, anyway. What’s certain for this year is that there will be more efforts to improve our health and wellness.
The Internet and wireless connections will make health monitoring a breeze.
Most of us hate the trip to the doctor’s office because of the traveling, waiting, and going through the cold and unattached feeling of the whole experience. If you could easily monitor your health—cholesterol, blood sugar, uric acid—at home in the same way you check your weight on a weighing scale, the easier it will be for you to take charge of your own health. The internet and wireless connections will make health care services available 24/7: when problems arise, you can easily talk online with attending physicians, specialists, and nurses; and getting your medical prescriptions and buying your medicine will be a breeze through online shopping. This technology will make health care services faster and more convenient especially for those who need home-based health care.
Improved indoor air quality.
We spend most of the day indoors to avoid the heat and pollution outside. What we don’t realize is that the indoors is not 100% free of pollution either. Our homes, offices, and establishments are also breeding grounds for odors, molds, fumes, and other indoor pollutants that contribute greatly to several respiratory ailments. As more and more people are becoming health buffs, more products for superior air venting and filtration will become available to help fight the indoor pollutants.
People will actually get tired of “packed” salads.
Admit it—the prices keep getting higher and higher while the veggies kept getting lesser and disturbing smaller. And with the dizzying number of salad dressings in the food aisles, you’d get tired of putting up with packed salads. With the economic crisis crippling the world, it is predicted that we will soon peel, cut, and dress our own salads the old-fashioned way.
Medical records will go digital.
Yes, brown manila envelopes stapled forms, and long white folders will soon be history. When medical records become electronic, patient information and medical history can now be accessed by authorized personnel with a few clicks of a computer mouse. Going digital will help hospitals in cost-cutting and ensure the privacy of their patients.
One super product to clean them all.
Stay-at-home moms don’t mind having a dozen products for household cleaning. Otherwise, it’s a problem. With the recurring health scares, everyday obsessive-compulsiveness, and no-time-to-waste schedules, baby boomers will soon demand of one product that will work on all surfaces to cut the cleaning time in half. Imagine how clutter-free your storage space would be!
Bacteria-detecting tools for your food.
Imagine having an electronic gadget that you can wand over your uncooked meat and veggies that will automatically light up when it has detected bacteria. Just how neat is that? No more worrying for food-related diseases like salmonella, shigella, and listeria among others. You can also use it on your countertops, cutting boards, and other surfaces. How cool is that?
Baby boomers will keep the cosmetic industry rich.
Financial crisis won’t stop this demographic from fending off aging and bad health. Present realities give us quick and handy teeth whitening products, compact wrinkle removers, and home-based gym. If not in the very near future, this generation will find a way to make home-based acne surgery and liposuction a reality.
Water-safety system for the entire house.
The multi-million bottled water industry is proof of the people’s constant demand for pure, clean, and safe water. While municipal water is generally safe for drinking, a lot of people can get sick when the water system has been tampered with accidentally. To accommodate the demand for safe drinking water, whole house water systems will eventually become available to the public so you can better ensure the quality of the water you drink.
Advanced research in the war against mites and molds.
They are everywhere--in your carpets, beddings, pillows, curtains--and they are so hard to get rid of completely. And since they breed on dark, damp, and warm fabrics, just imagine how many are hiding in your beds, sofas, and throw pillows. Not only do they pose disturbing thoughts but they also contribute to numerous allergies. Researchers have started to explore ways on how to kill termites using light and effective ways to reduce the humidity in your homes to ward off molds. These studies are expected to turn in breakthrough products in the near future.
