Americans predict that cutting out processed foods, healthy aging and improving gut health will be the top three health trends in 2025, according to a recent study.
The survey of 2,000 Americans unpacked their health trends forecast, wellness resolutions, average health rating and the emotions woven throughout it all.
Respondents predicted that Americans will cut processed foods out of their diets (34%), pursue more healthy aging activities (33%) and work to improve their gut health and digestion (22%) more than ever in the new year.
They also believe we’ll see more integration of wearable technology (22%) and artificial intelligence (21%) into healthcare along with taking a functional approach to health becoming more popular (20%).
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Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Pendulum, the study found that Americans rate their holistic health as only a 6/10, on average.
Nearly a third (31%) would trade using social media for a year to feel 100% better physically and 64% struggle to stay awake during the day.
Seeing how this ties into their wellness goals, most (90%) have a health-related resolution in 2025.
Fifty-three percent of those want to workout more, 49% are looking to maintain a healthy weight, and 29% are aiming to get outdoors more often.
Twenty-six percent simply want to hit the hay earlier and more than a quarter (26%) will be working to improve their digestion and gut health.
“The research shows that Americans are more aware than ever that a refreshed, holistic approach to health is the way forward,” said Dr. Adam Perlman, chief medical officer at Pendulum and former medical director for integrative health and wellbeing at Mayo Clinic. “Rather than just scratching the surface, they’re understanding that to be healthier and to feel better, it’s important to go deeper and address issues of gut health as well as metabolic health.”
For those who struggle with poor digestive health (43%), they experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms at least twice per day, on average.
An unfortunate 6% reported they experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms for the entirety of their day.
Most (72%) with less-than-ideal digestive health are embarrassed when they experience digestive upset in front of others and nearly half (48%) don’t feel like they can interpret their stomach’s signals and symptoms very well.
Looking at their purchases in hopes of better health, 69% of respondents take a vitamin supplement on a regular basis, 33% take an herbal supplement and 33% regularly take a probiotic supplement.
But for those taking a probiotic, 62% don’t notice a very positive difference in their health because of it and two-thirds (66%) admitted they don’t understand the benefits of probiotics very well.
And although those taking supplements regularly are spending nearly $600 per year on them, on average ($588), more than one in 10 respondents (14%) would pay $10,000 to totally reset their health.
The majority (83%) agreed that having a healthy gut along with healthy digestion and metabolism are critical for overall health and wellness.
And for respondents with poor digestive health, they estimated that if they could improve their gut health, their quality of life would increase by 46% on average.
“In this study, we found that people know how critical gut health is to overall wellness,” said Dr. Perlman. “However, the microbiome is a complex system, and 66% of respondents admitted they don’t understand the benefits of probiotics very well. When selecting probiotics, it’s important to choose brands that demonstrate the efficacy of their products in clinical studies and have transparency around the nature of the product and its ingredients.”
AMERICANS’ PREDICTIONS FOR MAJOR HEALTH TRENDS IN 2025
Cutting out processed foods – 34%Healthy aging – 33%Improving digestion/gut health – 22%Wearable technology – 22%Using artificial intelligence to improve healthcare – 21%Taking a functional approach to health – 20%Improving metabolism – 18%Health minimalism – 9%Being gluten-free – 9%Being vegetarian – 6%Being vegan – 6%Going on the carnivore diet – 5%
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by Pendulum and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Dec. 10 and Dec. 16, 2024.
We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentiveProgrammatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.
Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.
Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.
Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speedersOpen ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant textBots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify botsDuplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.
