CHICAGO — A new global health and wellness survey of nearly 19,000 adults in 19 countries revealed more consumers are applying conscious purchasing strategies to their foods and beverages, want more transparency in labeling and would consider taking anti-obesity medications if their health care provider recommended them.

Those were some of the findings after Chicago-based NielsenIQ (NIQ) interviewed online consumers in January and February about their behaviors and attitudes related to health and wellness. “Global state of health and wellness 2025: Navigating the shift from health trends to lifestyle choices” was released May 28.

The survey also found global consumers are leery of food company claims and view ultra-processed foods negatively, with 48% of North Americans surveyed among the highest of any region with that attitude.

Global respondents were asked whether they regularly engage in exercise, nutrition tracking or monitoring health metrics, and 70% said they did, the survey found. Further, 55% said they are willing to spend more than $100 per month on total wellness.

“When I saw that stat, at first I thought that was pretty high, but then I’m thinking about a gym membership and wellness trackers, and I think it probably is reasonable,” said Sherry Frey, vice president of total wellness for NIQ.

The NIQ survey found consumers increasingly are looking for nutrition and gut health products, such as high-fiber foods, plant-based foods and those formulated with probiotics, with probiotic yogurts doing particularly well in the United States.

“It’s really interesting what’s happening because we see things tied to gut health and the microbiome right now,” Frey said. “You see products with more claims around digestive health, microbiome and the skin. It’s just gotten so much more traction.”

She said NIQ is conducting research on digestive health and plans to have the data out by July. The focus is across whole foods, including digestive health supplements, she said.

“What we’re hypothesizing is there’s been so much dietary fiber added to products,” Frey said. “What we’re going to analyze, too, is whether people are biohacking and just trying to get the ingredient. We’re going to look if people are eating the level of fruits and vegetables, or they might be going straight for the fiber supplement.”

The NIQ survey found 31% of global respondents have a generally positive perception of GLP-1 drugs, or glucagon-like peptide-1 medications that can help with weight loss. Frey said NIQ has been tracking GLP-1s for about two years and didn’t necessarily see people taking the drugs for weight loss early on and eating healthier.

“What’s changed is that we’re now seeing these people buying hydration (products) and fiber and seeing that one over-index,” she said. “We see them buying more things around brain health and organic products and clean label. As they learn more about protein and fiber, they’re driving a lot of the growth around those.”

Health-related technology like continuous glucose monitors that measure blood sugar and wearable tech such as jewelry that encourages personalization and individual participation in health and wellness are growing in popularity.

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GLP-1s have caused other shifts in consumer behavior, particularly involving women and older consumers, she added, with health-related technology being one of the more influential aspects. Examples include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that measure blood sugar and wearable tech such as jewelry that encourages personalization and individual participation in health and wellness.

“It’s not like you eat a salad and you hope you lose weight when you go to the doctor next year,” Frey said. “Now they’re getting all this information and monitoring themselves without waiting for a doctor’s appointment.”

She mentioned the Oura smart ring, which can measure the wearer’s REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and track heart rate, blood oxygen, temperature and other health metrics. Oura recently partnered with Dexcom, which makes CGMs, and is adding that biometric capability.

Frey said more such health tech devices are coming since several are in development. They include smart earrings equipped with health-tracking sensors and sensors placed on a tooth that can transmit information about glucose, salt and alcohol intake.

“I just ordered a Lumen (device) that you can breathe into, and it measures your metabolic rates and tells you what you should be eating,” she said.

For consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, the survey’s message is to consistently address wellness, health technology and conscious buying in product development, according to NIQ. Trust and influence, nutrition and weight loss also need to be considered.

“Manufacturers and retailers must address consumers’ ongoing core concerns around the cost and availability of healthier options — and their desire for authentic, clear and detailed product information,” NIQ said. “Brands can additionally win loyalty with core segments, along with premiumization potential, by ensuring that their full product portfolio has a wellness focus, as well as being ethically sourced, environmentally responsible and socially aware.”

Frey said CPGs are stepping up in several ways.

“We’ve seen many more CPGs that are really focused on ingredients, adding dietary fibers since they know those are the consumer needs that they have,” she said. … “We’ve seen more focus from CPGs on cleaning up ingredient stacks, cleaning up labels, putting nutritional in their category, looking at macro- and micronutrients. We’re really seeing a lot of portfolio evaluation from CPGs. One recently said, ‘We’ve never seen this shift to health and wellness before from consumers.