LONGEVITY

Longevity: functional fitness for a longer, more fulfilled life

Encouragingly, the Wellness Index findings suggest longevity could become the ‘new weight loss’.

Consumers report being less concerned with using exercise to control their weight and more concerned with living longer better. In fact, almost a third of consumers (29 per cent) say they exercise because they want to live a long and healthy life – a significant increase from last year.

One way consumers are optimising their health is functional fitness – a type of strength training that prepares the body for day-to-day activities such as squatting, bending, pushing and lunging.

More than half of general consumers engage in movement that prepares the body for daily living, with millennial men the most likely to do so.

Recovery is also a top priority, with nearly half (47 per cent) of Americans saying practices such as stretching and restorative yoga are very important to them.

More than one-third of general consumers have tried or are interested in trying ice baths, while over a quarter (26 per cent) of Americans practice biohacking for peak physical and mental performance. ●