Health, Fitness & Medicine Trends For 2023

While health, fitness and medicine are industries in their own right, each one also significantly influences the other two sectors.

More people are aware of the benefits derived from living a healthy lifestyle than ever before, which has had a knock-on effect on the aforementioned industries.

As awareness increases exponentially, it naturally follows that new innovations will be required to keep pushing things forward in the future.

With that in mind, we take a look at some of the health, fitness and medicine trends we are likely to see in 2023 and beyond.

Fitness Technology

The fitness technology sector continues to evolve as developers keep pushing the boundaries of the software that powers the products.

Apple Watches, Fitbits and Peloton are amongst a plethora of fitness products that have become part and parcel of daily life in recent years.

With an increasing number of people now choosing to keep fit remotely rather than visit their local gym, demand for fitness-related products is guaranteed to grow.

Fitness apps will be one of the biggest growth areas, with analysts forecasting the market size will reach $4.8 billion by 2030.

Daily Training

As we mentioned earlier, people across the world have become increasingly aware of the benefits they can gain from adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Several research studies have shown that many of those individuals incorporate daily training into their schedule and the numbers are expected to rise over the coming years.

From walking the dog around the block to undertaking a vigorous session at the gym, there are loads of ways people can fit training into their daily schedule.

With regular exercise proven to have a positive impact on physical and mental wellbeing, this trend is unlikely to slow down in the future.

Sleep Supplementation

Supplement experts PreWorkout.org have highlighted how supplementation can have a positive impact on many aspects of health and fitness.

While supplements are often associated with workout activities, they can also be used to support the rest and recovery process.

Sleep supplementation is becoming increasingly prevalent, as people strive to ensure they get the requisite eight hours sleep per night.

Supplements can be vital in aiding recovery from physical activity and sales of products such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tart cherry juice are expected to boom over the next few years.

Plant-Based Nutrition

While the use of supplements has been on the rise in recent years, many people remain wary about the ingredients they contain and whether they are safe to use.

Sectors such as sports nutrition have been responsible for some of the trepidation, particularly with regards to using too much sugar in their products.

The leading brands in the sector are gradually addressing the situation by introducing more plant-based ingredients into their products.

Many people are also adding more plant-based foods to their daily dietary intake, which should further drive growth within this area.

Healthcare Hubs

Sweden and Germany have been at the forefront of innovation in healthcare for many years and are fully expected to continue leading the way.

Both countries have hosted healthcare hubs as a way to generate more collaboration between organisations associated with the industry.

These events bring together medical technology companies, medical facilities, research institutions, SMEs and global healthcare organisations to discuss the way forward.

Many countries still have no formal process on how to purchase, implement and evaluate digital health technologies on a wider scale, but healthcare hubs can help to rectify this.

Orthobiologics 

Orthobiologics, a technique that uses the body's own cells to repair injuries and reduce inflammation, is gaining traction within healthcare circles. 

Pioneered by leading orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Kenneth Chern, orthobiologics takes stem cells and platelet-rich plasma from the body and formulates them into higher concentrations.

These are then injected into the damaged area and are a more effective way to repair injuries than other traditional medical treatments.

Stem cells help injuries heal more quickly as the tissue is more robust, unlike scar tissue, which is much weaker. 

Telemedicine

While telemedicine has existed for around 50 years, it is only in recent times that it has started to deliver more successful patient outcomes.

Telemedicine has several benefits including boosting care levels for people who live in remote areas and providing better support for chronically ill patients in their own homes.

It also significantly reduces the strain on land-based services, particularly when it comes to reducing the number of missed appointments.

Cyber security and digital privacy remain big challenges for telemedicine, but advancements in technology will help to resolve the issues.

Robotics

Robotics technology has made major strides over the past few years and will become increasingly prevalent in healthcare in the future.

One of the key ways robots can assist the industry is in the operating theatre by providing surgeons with greater accuracy and thus improving patient outcomes.

Robots can also support doctors as they do their rounds, sharing live footage with remote healthcare professionals who can lend their expertise.

Assisting healthcare in rural areas and alleviating the strain on medical support staff are other ways robots will become more commonplace in the future.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is being used to improve many aspects of daily life and it is certain to have a major impact on health, fitness and medicine over the next few years.

Patient support functions, fitness tracking, health monitoring and the provision of behavioural or lifestyle techniques are amongst the ways AI will be utilised.

Many of these give people more individual responsibility for their health and wellbeing, which helps to reduce the strain on the healthcare sector.

High-tech holistic medicine driven by AI will push whole person care to every corner of the healthcare industry, thus reducing costs and dependency on the system.