Trend Trend 2: health broadens into many measurable dimensions and outruns consumers' sense of progress
Summary
McKinsey's second trend holds that health matters more to consumers and is being defined more widely - heart, cognition, sleep, stress, gut - while fewer than half say they are reaching their wellness goals, with the shortfall largest in Germany and France.
Classification
Main topicWelfare & Health
Region menusGlobal
Impactscope:global
Time horizon4-10 years (2026-07-26)
Last updated2026-07-29 04:49:52
Evidence 2
- State of the Consumer 2026: When tech acceleration and cost pressures collide McKinsey & Company page=9;section=Chapter 2: The health revolution - Wearables and scientific breakthroughs are influencing consumer goals 2026-06 accessed 2026-07-26
- State of the Consumer 2026: When tech acceleration and cost pressures collide McKinsey & Company page=9;section=Chapter 2: The health revolution - Wearables and scientific breakthroughs are influencing consumer goals 2026-06 accessed 2026-07-26
Observed signals 8
- Signal22% of consumers use large language models for health and wellness, 26% among Gen Z
- Signal59% of boomers ask doctors about health against 42% of Gen Z; 38% of Gen Z ask social media
- Signal75% of Gen Z and 73% of millennials use health-tracking tools against 32% of boomers
- SignalBrazil's GLP-1 patents expired in March 2026 and price is the stated barrier for 35% of interested consumers
- SignalExhibit 5 states the gap between stated importance of health and felt attainment
- SignalGLP-1 penetration in Europe is estimated at about 2% of the population
- SignalOne in six US households tried GLP-1s by July 2024 and cut grocery spend about 6%
- SignalProjections put 25 million Americans on GLP-1 treatment by 2030
Part of issues 4
- IssueGeneric wellness gives way to life-stage and physiology-specific demand1 trends · 1 signals
- IssueReal-time health data forces products to stop trading taste against price against function1 trends · 1 signals
- IssueServing segment-specific health needs requires faster iteration than incumbents currently run1 trends · 1 signals
- IssueThe four trends must be read as interacting, not as four separate agendas4 trends · 0 signals
Relation types: constitutes · supports
Public id: fm-c2609b157079