Overall |
United States |
United Kingdom |
Germany |
Table 4 drIverS of WeLL-beIng
Physical & Mental Health Physical Condition Mental Health
Emotional & Relational Health Emotional State Social Relationships Spiritual Beliefs Economic Security Financial Security Career Path Environmental Factors
34 % 18 % 16 %
34 % 13 % 12 % 9 %
25 % 16 % 8 % 7 %
TOTAL 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %
33 % 17 % 16 %
35 % 13 % 11 % 12 %
25 % 17 % 8 % 7 %
34 % 17 % 17 %
34 % 13 % 13 % 8 %
24 % 15 % 9 % 8 %
35 % 19 % 17 %
33 % 14 % 13 % 6 %
24 % 15 % 9 % 7 %
Relational Health were weighted identically at 34 percent, with Economic Security at 25 percent and Environmental Factors at seven percent. But the results for WELLZoomers were different: Emotional and Relational Health( 35 percent) exceeded Physical & Mental Health( 32 percent).
These results suggest WELLZoomers do not separate the physical-and-mental from emotional-and-relational to the same degree older adults do; they treat both as contributors to a single integrated outcome— durable well-being— evaluated by their emotional state. Wellness inputs from multiple channels— wearables, therapies, programs, products and experiential modalities— function less as independent activities and more as interdependent components in an ecosystem of well-being.
DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT AND CREDIBILITY This integrative orientation is fueled by how WELLZoomers access and evaluate health-related information. Ninety-five percent do so through digital or social platforms. Digital engagement is widespread, but trust in the information published or available on those platforms is elusive.
When WELLZoomers evaluated the reliability of information appearing on 17 popular social media and digital platforms, only two— YouTube and podcasts— were cited as publishing reliable information by more than half of respondents, at 58 percent and 55 percent, respectively. Information posted on all other social media was cited as reliable by less than 50 percent of WELLZoomers.
Trust in product, service and experience validation claims reflected a similar pattern. Terms such as“ clinically proven,”“ recommended by a scientist / medical professional” and“ evidence-based” ranked significantly higher in perceived credibility than claims tied to friends, influencers or celebrities. Hence, scientific endorsement is not passively accepted; it functions as a filter. Gaining trust is critical, and scientific provenance is a gatekeeper.
Having matured through an increasingly digitized lifestyle, where contemporary applications synchronize, dashboards provide feedback, and user experiences are frictionless, WELLZoomers embrace coordination as the norm rather than the exception. Their interaction with health information mirrors the same form of engagement: Multiple inputs are accessed, compared, evaluated, filtered and integrated over time. The result is structured synthesis— information filtered and incorporated into a broader personal framework of well-being. n
COMING NEXT
IN THE NOVEMBER 2026 ISSUE of Pulse, Part 2 will explore what WELLZoomers’ expectations mean for wellness brands, market positioning and the global business opportunity ahead.
WELLZoomers and WELLSurvey are trademarks of Civano Advisory Services, LLC
KEVIN KELLY is CEO of Civano Advisors and a former luxury wellness resort executive with Canyon Ranch, Sensei, Civana and Two Bunch Palms. His expertise includes sustainable development, creating wellness programs and owning / operating luxury wellness-oriented brands. | kevin @ civanoadvisors. com
KEVIN KELLY PETER C. YESAWICH
PETER C. YESAWICH, PH. D., is chairman of Yesawich Holding LLC, co-founder of marketing services firm MMGY Global and former chief growth officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America. He is co-author of Marketing Leadership in Hospitality and Tourism and Hospitable Healthcare: Just What the Patient Ordered! | petersr @ yesawich. com
PULSE n SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2026 19