future of wellness

A vision for 2050Future of Wellness

INTRODUCTION

Wellness, in today’s context, is much more than diagnosing and curing poor health or diseases. It is a multidimensional and holistic state of being that is conscious, self-directed, and constantly evolving.

Trying to make sense of wellness in a world of rising healthcare costs, shortage of wellness professionals, and technological advances in everything from computing to genetics, gives rise to several pertinent questions.

Will there still be any universally recognized concept of wellness? Or will it be hyper personalized to each individual's environments, genetics, and experiences?

What will wellness look and feel like in the future? What will be the new indicators of wellness?

As people experience enhanced wellness, will they become more self-aware and adopt additional experiences that will promote wellness?

What Is the Future of Wellness?

Will we be more in control of our well-being? Or will we stop caring in a world where every aspect of our person is closely and constantly monitored and serviced?

As roles in the wellness ecosystem shift, what are the new well-being authorities and environments that will emerge?

Will big data around wellness help create better early warning systems about potential pandemics? Or will there be a drive to protect and hide our personal wellness and risk profiles online?

Will we ever be 'unwell', given all the new technologies to enhance (as well as prevent) wellness that will be in place?

Will we prefer being looked after and treated by robotic care givers/surgeons?

We attempt to answer these questions through 10current trends we have identified, which will impactthe course of wellness in the future.

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Wellness Trends

Engineered Environments Evolutionized Neo-styled Life Smarter Intake Closing The Loop

Predictive Prevention Tech’Know’logy Customized Care Crowdsourced Fitness Gamified

Environments will be designed to motivate users to lead healthy lives with the help of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, consciously and subconsciously

Changes in lifestyle will lead to a significant overlap between life at home, at work, and in other environments. Clear-cut demarcations of time and space for work and play will diminish

Health measurements will no longer take place only in hospitals and traditional health spaces, but increasingly in all spaces that humans inhabit

Engineered EnvironmentsChanging habits and nudging behaviors through environments

TREND 1

A combination of advanced materials are being incorporated into buildings to help remove harmful pollutants from the air, creating safer and more enjoyable places for people to work and live in.

http://www.slideshare.net/PSFK/the-future-of-cities-27145532

Living Walls

Work with Work-out

Brooklyn Boulders Somerville provides a combination climbing gym and collaborative workspace in Somerville, Massachusetts.

The space has also played host to corporate meetings (companies like Puma and Vita-Coco) and a hackathon to develop fitness-related applications.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3023162/at-this-coworking-space-in-a-climbing-gym-you-can-do-pull-ups-at-your-standing-desk#2

EXAMPLES SUPPORTING THE TREND

Ecological Cities

Bo01 in Malmo, Sweden, is a recently developed sustainable district, where: Consumption of resources is minimized by wind turbines, rooftop solar panels, and a biogas plant

Residents are encouraged to regularly check their energy consumption on information panels installed in each home Paths and cycle tracks have been given high-priority as has the use of healthy materials in the dwellings and surroundings

http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-cities/sustainable-cities/all-cases/master-plan/malmo-bo01---an-ecological-city-of-tomorrow/

Compact Farming

In an effort to bring city centers closer to their food sources, developers and architects are experimenting with farms and gardens that maximize yield within a limited amount of space.

http://www.slideshare.net/PSFK/the-future-of-cities-27145532

Fitness Furniture

Designer Lucie Koldova has transformed both a table and a wardrobe into an exercise gym.

Offering various combinations and workout suggestions it is an all-round gym experience.

http://www.luciekoldova.com/projects/home-fitness

Human-powered Street Lighting

The Citilite lamps by Zhongren Zhang will use electricity generated through outdoor fitness facilities to:

Save a significant amount of public energy spending

Motivate a healthier life style for individuals

Enhance community awareness of green energy

http://www.coroflot.com/ericzzr/CitiLite-20

Obesity Fighting Chair

The Gymygym desk chair improves circulation, promotes spine alignment, and helps reverse the evils of sedentary desk jobs.

http://www.gymygym.com/

People will be able to aspire to immortality, and take on any technology enhanced avatar (mental, physical, emotional) depending on their needs.

EvolutionizedChallenging the natural pace of human evolution through genetic engineering and transhumanism

TREND 2

Augmented Humans

Future citizens of Earth will have bio-tech and technology enhancements at their fingertips.

Augmenting one's own body for physical or mental advantages will be as easy as putting on or taking off cosmetics.

http://www.nextnature.net/themes/augmented-bodies/

Nano Bots

Nano robots will patrol our bodies and destroy disease as it breaks out, or repair diseases before birth.

A century or more from now, cancer may well be a thing of the past; so will other genetic disorders.

http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/world-150-years-from-now-130702.htm


Robo Doc

Machine learning systems will be cheaper, more accurate and objective, and also effectively replace 80% of doctors simply by being better than the average doctor.

www.impactlab.net/2012/09/11/technology-will-replace-80-of-doctors-vinod-khosla/

Live Forever

The nanotechnology revolution will decrease cell deterioration and extend human lifespan in the future.

Ray Kurzweil's hypothesis further states that this will be not just be life extension, but life expansion. We will lead longer and also more healthy and vital lives.

http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/how-nanobots-will-help-the-immune-system-and-why-well-be-much-smarter-thanks-to-machines-2/

Rise of the New Species

Paleontologist Peter Ward speculates that a new species of humans will emerge through genetic engineering.

In time, scientists will modify our genomes to design superhuman progeny with any combination of desirable traits- intelligence, health, athletic prowess, longevity, and more.

www.livescience.com/5859-future-evolution.html

To counter the stress and isolation of technology saturated lives, we will develop novel ways of reconnecting with our primal nature

New-age community activities will bring people back to real life, face-to-face interactions

Living formats will be redesigned to help us stay close to nature and be in touch with our spiritual core

Neo-styled LifeFinding unique new ways to “return to innocence”

TREND 3

Disconnecting

Faraday Zones, or hang-out zones that offer the opportunity to be “beyond reach,” will find mainstream acceptance on trains, planes, and automobiles, as well as in public spaces like libraries and cinemas.

www.frogdesign.com/techtrends2014/?utm_campaign=Tech+Trends+2014

Neo Emotions

A neo-emotional system will extend and modify outdated emotions to better suit modern situations, culture, and technologically-enabled existence.

http://www.transhumanism.org/index.php/th/more/701/


Community-building Sports

Largescale participatory sports events like Tough Mudder and other mud runs are gaining success because of the inter-personal interactions they promote.

They also create a sense of community and belonging between like-minded people.

http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/the-future-of-fitness-who-will-win-the-gym-wars

Future Sound of Yoga

The Future Sound of Yoga is a concept created by husband and wife DJ and yogi team, Angel and Matt Singman.

The juxtaposition of futuristic music with the ancient art of yoga helps create a new meditative experience.

http://www.futuresoundofyoga.com/What_is_it.html

Back to the Roots

Primal Move helps us relearn basic natural movements in a scientific and play-oriented way, for an overall sense of well-being.

Through Primal Move “workouts,” our bodies gain flexibility, remove pain, repair and prevent injury, and build strength and skills.

http://primalmove.com/

Consuming food that could lead to the onset of diseases or health issues will be a problem of the past

Smarter food options will be developed, with edible items classified based on the body type they are suited for

3D printed food will ensure micro-customization of dietary needs

Smarter IntakeConsuming according to your body's unique needs

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TREND 4

Meat Alternatives

Beyond Meat and Hampton Creek Foods are creating healthy plant-based alternatives that taste just like eggs, chicken, and other animal sources of protein.

This will satisfy meat cravings, and will be- toxin and cruelty-free.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/12/beyond-eggs-meat-josh-tetrick

Guiltless Binging

Arctic Zero has created an ice cream made of whey protein and purified water, that sets one back by 150 calories per pint.

http://www.arcticzero.com/


Obesity Control

A new drug that allows people to eat as much as they want without gaining weight seems possible, based on new research into certain brain chemicals that influence how quickly we burn fat.

http://www.livescience.com/18860-marijuana-chemical-brown-fat.html

Customized Food

The labels we use today to describe our diets - vegetarian, Kosher, glucose-free, vegan, gluten-free, lactose intolerant - will be replaced with new terminology as we determine, on a molecular level, which foods are suited for which body type.

In the future, we will be consuming 3D printed food, catering to each person's unique dietary needs.

www.futuristspeaker.com/2011/10/the-coming-food-printer-revolution/

Things people interact with will interact back with them in smarter and more sensitive ways, giving them more control over their wellness

Products and services a person uses will be able to monitor, track and serve them well as per their requirement, preferences and desires

Products and services will assist people to make healthier and better choices in a world of increasing complexity and multiplicity

Personalization will unfold across domains: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual

Tech”Know”logyUsing technology to help your world “know” you and work for you

TREND 5

Scan What You Eat

TellSpec is a device that can scan food and help consumers make informed choices to buy or eat a particular item.

It identifies allergens, chemicals, nutrients, calories and ingredients in foods or beverages.

http://tellspec.com/

Track Your Well-being

The Lifewatch V is a smart phone that measures temperature, stress levels, blood pressure, heart rate to help users monitor their health status.

By placing their fingers on the sensors, LifeWatch V users can measure and track their medical condition, take corrective action, plan meals, activities and more.

http://www.lifewatchv.com/


Wearable Light Tracker

“Sunsprite” is a wearable that tells when you need more sunlight, to improve mood, energy and focus, and regulate the body's sleep cycle.

http://www.sunsprite.com/

Healthy Commute

The Healthy Commute app plots a person's route between two addresses, and displays alternative routes that fit their health choices in terms of food and activities.

http://suelynyu.com/Healthy-Commute-1

To overcome our guilt-laden collective conscience for the harm caused to planet Earth, humans will end the one-way track from consumption to disposal, and develop a perfectly closed loop system between man and nature

By successfully harnessing renewable energy sources and energy created by human activity, we will help create a sustainable energy cycle

Closing the LoopMaintaining the fine balance of Earth's resources

TREND 6

The Green System

In the Green System gyms by SportsArt Fitness, you work out, and the electricity you generate with the machines is fed into the grid to help the gym save on its utility bills. The watts you generate will be turned into eco-points, a currency that will soon be accepted at coffee shops and other retail outlets.

http://green.sportsartamerica.com/greenSystem.aspx

Wave Energy

Yinger Jin, a Wake Forest University sophomore, estimated that swimmers generated 10-kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to keep the lights on at Wake Forest's Reynolds Gym pool for a full day.

This research will form the basis of generating electricity from wave energy on a much larger scale, in oceans.

http://nationswell.com/college-students-clean-energy-idea-making-waves-just-campus/


Rainwater Harvesting Pavilion

Tom David Architecten's Casablanca pavilion design consists of structures that provide shade from the scorching sun, and also collect rainwater and channel it into underground tanks for use in public toilets.

http://inhabitat.com/sustainable-leafy-canopy-in-casablanca-by-tomdavid-architecten-wins-ac-ca-competition/

The Copenhagen Wheel

The wheel, developed by a team at MIT, generates energy during braking, similar to the regenerative braking of hybrid cars.

The electricity, controlled via iPhone, can provide power boosts for hills or long distances, making commuting by bike a viable option for more people.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662103/breaking-hybrid-bike-wheel-wins-us-dyson-award

The new trend will be to build a preventive world where more focus is given to prevention of disease and illness,much before the need for a cure

People will not only be aware of possible problems beforehand, but technology will provide different options for tackling these situations

Health-related apps will reach a new level of preventive intervention, and close and continuous checks on health and well-being will become routine

Predictive PreventionForeseeing and correcting wellness-related issues before they occur

TREND 7

Body Weight Simulator

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have created a tool that predicts how one's body weight will change and how long it will take to reach a weight loss goal.

In the future, physicians will be able to use it to design personalized weight management programs based on a patient’s individual goals.

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/at-niddk/labs-branches/LBM/integrative-physiology-section/body-weight-simulator/Pages/body-weight-simulator.aspx

Posture-correcting Shirt

Using an innovative and patented set of elastic bands, the Up T-shirt reminds its wearer that their shoulders ought to be held in a straight position that is good for bone and circulatory health.

This promotes good posture way before we've had a chance to ruin it.

http://designtaxi.com/news/363153/A-T-shirt-Designed-To-Keep-You-From-Slouching/


Nutrition Guide

Fooducate is a free mobile app that empowers supermarket shoppers to make healthy choices effortlessly and change their purchase habits.

It scans barcodes and instantly provides a health score to how nutritious food products really are.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fooducate.nutritionapp

Personal Genomics

Research is on, to be able to get our complete genetic code analyzed, so that each person's propensity to disease, response to drugs, and other tendencies can be individually mapped. Doctors will be able to predict what might ail a person in the future, and tailor-make therapies and medications to prevent it.

http://www.wfs.org/futurist/2014-issues-futurist/may-june-2014-vol-48-no-3/adventures-personal-genomics

The doctor-patient relationship and awareness about health related issues will reach new heights due to deep monitoring and instant availability and sharing of information

Healthcare institutions will be able to provide patients with customized treatments and organs, specifically matched to their physiological make-up

More and more procedures will be performed with the help of robotic technology, to assure patients greater precision and surgical control

Customized CareEvaluating patients' unique needs and delivering tailor-made treatments

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TREND 8

3D-printed Replacements

3D printers are already being used to quickly create personalized body parts like teeth or knee joints and medical devices like hearing aids and wrist braces.

Viable human tissue and organs will follow suit, doing away with patients' waiting time.

www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244884/The_first_3D_printed_organ_a_liver_is_expected_in_2014

Advanced Surgical System

The Da Vinci surgical system enables surgeons to perform delicate and complex operations through a few tiny incisions with increased precision, dexterity, and high definition 3D vision.

In the future, this will make it possible for complex surgical operations to have 0% chances of error.

www.intuitivesurgical.com/products/davinci_surgical_system/#sthash.3Xcf2NNG.dpuf


Electronic Skin

A multidisciplinary research team has developed an ultra thin membrane with diagnostic sensors and stimulatory components that can stick to skin.

This “electronic skin” allows remote patient monitoring and may someday be used to deliver treatments.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/525976/a-bandage-that-senses-tremors-delivers-drugs-and-keeps-a-record/

Ultra-sensitive Monitor

ZhenanBao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, has developed a heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill and no wider than a postage stamp.

The flexible skin-like monitor, worn under an adhesive bandage on the wrist, is sensitive enough to help doctors detect stiff arteries and cardiovascular problems.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/may/skin-heart-monitor-051413.html

Healthcare professionals will use crowdsourcing platforms and methods to research and solve critical health problems, and suggest innovative solutions

People will seek diagnosis and suggestions on health issues from professionals around the world, and accept treatment from virtual clinics and hospitals

CrowdsourcedLeveraging the power of the people to generate wellness solutions

TREND 9

Crowdsourced Diagnosis

CrowdMed is revolutionizing healthcare by harnessing “the wisdom of crowds” to help solve the world's most difficult medical cases quickly and accurately online.

It aims to help people reach a diagnosis faster by tapping into a unique database of experts.

www.crowdmed.com/

Telehealth

AccuHealth, Chile, uses sensors with a wireless connection to remotely monitor vital signs of chronically ill patients.

If the vital signs are not good, data center staff can immediately contact the patient to recommend actions to take.

The stored information can also be used for preventive treatment, avoiding costly post-emergency hospitalization.

https://www.accuhealth.cl/uploads/archive/filename/27_02_12_BNAmericas_Accu.pdf


Fitness GamifiedStaying fit and fighting illness through games

Innovative platforms and applications will be introduced to educate and inspire users and groom children to practice well-being and overcome health-related issues.

TREND 10

Reduce Anxiety

A mobile game based on an emerging cognitive treatment for anxiety called attention-bias modification training (ABMT) can reduce stress in 25 minutes.

The treatment involves training patients to ignore a threatening stimulus, such as an angry face, and to focus instead on a non-threatening stimulus, such as a neutral or happy face.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/reducing-anxiety-with-a-smartphone-app.html

Employee Wellness

Keas is a gamified employee wellness program, to promote job satisfaction and encourage a fitter workforce.

It provides a platform to share updates, pictures, and healthy recipes, and participate in challenges and games with co-workers for incentives.

It also integrates with biometric applications like FitBit.

https://keas.com/


Fight Cancer

Re-Mission 2 gives kids and young adults with cancer a sense of power and control over their disease and also encourages treatment adherence.

Each game puts players inside the human body to fight and destroy cancer with an arsenal of weapons and super-powers, like chemotherapy, antibiotics and the body's natural defenses.

http://www.re-mission2.org/

Race Yourself

Race Yourself is a Google Glass app that makes exercise more interesting, through the addictive and social elements of gaming.

It lets you race against giant boulders, zombies, fire, virtual friends, and even an oncoming train, to stay fit.

http://mashable.com/2014/01/08/race-yourself-app/

The Way Forward, from Insights to Action

Confronting wellness-related challenges and planning for the future will take creative efforts and collaboration with a variety of stakeholders:

User experience professionals

Technology innovators

Cyber security experts

Governments

Social scientists

Individuals and organizations involved in traditional and new age healthcare

Citizens

We would like this report to act as a catalyst, to help kick-start ideas around discovering and exploring opportunities in the Future of Wellness.

As a tiny glimpse into the possibilities, we leave you with a vision of wellness for the year 2050.

A day in the life ofHuang in

2050

SHANGHAI II, May 12, 2050

Changes in lifestyle and nature of human activities have lead to an overlap between home, work spaces and other living environments.

Citizens of this neopolis are ultra-conscious of their health and wellbeing.

Technology-enabled environments motivate and aid them to lead a life of holistic wellness.

This is the era of ENGINEERED ENVIRONMENTS.

Meet Dr. Huang!He is 32 years old and EVOLUTIONIZED.

He has had himself genetically altered, to be able to attach and control robotic arm modifications.

This helps him perform complicated surgery with greater precision, even when stressed or exhausted.

A report by:

ice.humanfactors.com

Human Factors International Pvt. Ltd.No.10, 2nd Floor,Saint Ange Street, Puducherry 605001India Phone: + 91 413 4210583 Fax: + 91 413 4210586

Team:Sonal MalhotraSnehshikha GuptaPrashant VuthaAnanya Roy