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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
When the Status Quo Doesn't Cut It
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors' weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. Why are so many Americans so eager to find alternatives—political, medical, vocational—to the status quo? By many measures, the 9-to-5 workplace, the medical industry, and other mainstays of American life seem to have served the country's population very well: The United States has the world's largest economy, and its population is far healthier and wealthier than it was before World War II. Yet in 2023, North Americans spent an average of $5,800 each on 'wellness' treatments whose efficacy has not always been backed by research. One in 13 Americans have participated in multilevel marketing, even though research has shown that 99 percent of them lose money in the process, and 30 percent supported a Cabinet position for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the leader of the movement to 'make America healthy again,' who has falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism. This state of affairs has animated several stories in The Atlantic's books section over the past two weeks, and all of them identify the same basic answer: The status quo is no longer working. First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic's books desk: A reality check for tech oligarchs The world that Wages for Housework wanted Five books that will redirect your attention 'I Remember': A poem by William H. McRaven As Adam M. Lowenstein wrote in his essay on Gardiner Harris's No More Tears, an exposé about the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson's persistent efforts to downplay the risks of some of its products, evidence that the health-care system puts profits first may have 'left some people so disillusioned and distrustful that they were willing to try anything else.' Cases of pharmaceutical wrongdoing give a message like Kennedy's—that the medical industry is corrupt—an understandable appeal. This same message underlies the $6.3 trillion wellness industry, with its array of purported miracle cures. Sheila McClear, in an essay on Amy Larocca's new book, How to Be Well, wrote this week that 'Americans are exhausted from navigating a health-care system so costly and inconvenient that it has sent many of them scrambling for alternatives.' Those who can't find a therapist who takes insurance can instead buy a '$38 jar of adaptogenic 'dust' that claims to improve your mood,' for example, while the wealthy can enroll in boutique health services that make house calls. This deep distrust in American institutions—and the parade of disruptive entrepreneurs eager to take advantage of it—extends far beyond the medical arena. Last week, Lora Kelley wrote about Bridget Read's book Little Bosses Everywhere, a history of MLMs—companies that hire salespeople who earn commissions by signing up more salespeople. These businesses first proliferated during the Great Depression, and it felt like no coincidence to Kelley that they resurged online a few years ago during the 'Great Resignation,' when growing numbers of workers were laid off or quit out of frustration. Many modern MLMs, Kelley writes, 'promise what American jobs used to: security, freedom, dignity. Those promises have consistently failed to materialize. But the fact that so many are desperate to get in on the schemes each year is not a credit to the broader job market.' She summarizes Read's argument like so: 'MLMs are a toxin masquerading as a cure.' McClear, in her article, writes that the second Trump administration has opened the gates to medical skeptics. Casey Means, a wellness influencer, is the current nominee for surgeon general, and Kennedy now leads the Department of Health and Human Services. McClear notes that some of Kennedy's policy positions, such as curbs on microplastics, unhealthy foods, and unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies, could be productive reforms, and others, such as reducing access to vaccines and fluoride, feel like dubious solutions in search of a problem. It's not so hard to argue that the current state of the nation has left many people disappointed—in some cases, desperate for something that works. But this doesn't mean that any alternative is necessarily better. Some are proving to be demonstrably worse. The Perilous Spread of the Wellness Craze By Sheila McClear A new book reveals how health-care inequality fueled the spread of anti-science conspiracy theories. Read the full article. , by Denis Johnson Johnson's drama of the American frontier is barely a novel; the thin paperback can be started on a hot afternoon and finished by happy hour. Yet it has accrued a devoted following in the nearly 15 years since it was published, because it conjures a great expanse—the mythic West. Its main character, Robert Grainier, works as a contract laborer for the railroads running through Idaho and Washington State. Sweating and straining, he hauls down giant conifers in the region's old-growth forests. He feels a sweet freedom while riding over freshly laid rail, watching the wilderness blur by through a boxcar's slats. Train Dreams is not overly romantic about its time and place: In the first chapter, Grainier's boss orders him to throw a Chinese laborer off an unfinished bridge. A curse later seems to fall upon Grainier. He experiences God's cosmic vengeance, a cleansing fire racing across the dry landscape. Johnson has a cinematic style, lingering on images. But the novella barrels forward with the locomotion evoked in its title, until the end of Grainier's days, and the end of the Old West. Give it a few hours in June, and it may hold on to your imagination until August. — Ross Andersen From our list: The 2025 summer reading guide 📚 Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid 📚 Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson, by Mark Kriegel 📚 Charlottesville: An American Story, by Deborah Baker The Talented Mr. Vance By George Packer J. D. Vance poses a problem, and at its core is a question about character. In the years after the 2016 election, he transformed himself from a center-right memoirist and public speaker, offering a complex analysis of America's social ills and a sharp critique of Donald Trump, into a right-wing populist politician whose illiberal ideas and vitriolic rhetoric frequently out-Trump the original. According to Vance and his supporters, this change followed a realization during Trump's first term that the president was lifting up the fallen working class of the heartland that had produced young J. D. To help his people, Vance had to make his peace with their champion. According to his critics, Vance cynically chose to betray his true values in order to take the only path open to an ambitious Republican in the Trump era, and as a convert under suspicion, he pursued it with a vengeance. In one account, a poor boy from the provinces makes good in the metropole, turns against his glittering benefactors, and goes home to fight for his people. In the other, the poor boy seizes every opportunity on his way up, loses his moral compass, and is ruined by his own ambition. Read the full article. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Sign up for The Wonder Reader, a Saturday newsletter in which our editors recommend stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Explore all of our newsletters. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
4 days ago
- Health
- Atlantic
When the Status Quo Doesn't Cut It
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors' weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. Why are so many Americans so eager to find alternatives—political, medical, vocational—to the status quo? By many measures, the 9-to-5 workplace, the medical industry, and other mainstays of American life seem to have served the country's population very well: The United States has the world's largest economy, and its population is far healthier and wealthier than it was before World War II. Yet in 2023, North Americans spent an average of $5,800 each on 'wellness' treatments whose efficacy has not always been backed by research. One in 13 Americans have participated in multilevel marketing, even though research has shown that 99 percent of them lose money in the process, and 30 percent supported a Cabinet position for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the leader of the movement to 'make America healthy again,' who has falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism. This state of affairs has animated several stories in The Atlantic 's books section over the past two weeks, and all of them identify the same basic answer: The status quo is no longer working. First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic 's books desk: As Adam M. Lowenstein wrote in his essay on Gardiner Harris's No More Tears, an exposé about the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson's persistent efforts to downplay the risks of some of its products, evidence that the health-care system puts profits first may have 'left some people so disillusioned and distrustful that they were willing to try anything else.' Cases of pharmaceutical wrongdoing give a message like Kennedy's—that the medical industry is corrupt—an understandable appeal. This same message underlies the $6.3 trillion wellness industry, with its array of purported miracle cures. Sheila McClear, in an essay on Amy Larocca's new book, How to Be Well, wrote this week that 'Americans are exhausted from navigating a health-care system so costly and inconvenient that it has sent many of them scrambling for alternatives.' Those who can't find a therapist who takes insurance can instead buy a '$38 jar of adaptogenic 'dust' that claims to improve your mood,' for example, while the wealthy can enroll in boutique health services that make house calls. This deep distrust in American institutions—and the parade of disruptive entrepreneurs eager to take advantage of it—extends far beyond the medical arena. Last week, Lora Kelley wrote about Bridget Read's book Little Bosses Everywhere, a history of MLMs—companies that hire salespeople who earn commissions by signing up more salespeople. These businesses first proliferated during the Great Depression, and it felt like no coincidence to Kelley that they resurged online a few years ago during the ' Great R esignation,' when growing numbers of workers were laid off or quit out of frustration. Many modern MLMs, Kelley writes, 'promise what American jobs used to: security, freedom, dignity. Those promises have consistently failed to materialize. But the fact that so many are desperate to get in on the schemes each year is not a credit to the broader job market.' She summarizes Read's argument like so: 'MLMs are a toxin masquerading as a cure.' McClear, in her article, writes that the second Trump administration has opened the gates to medical skeptics. Casey Means, a wellness influencer, is the current nominee for surgeon general, and Kennedy now leads the Department of Health and Human Services. McClear notes that some of Kennedy's policy positions, such as curbs on microplastics, unhealthy foods, and unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies, could be productive reforms, and others, such as reducing access to vaccines and fluoride, feel like dubious solutions in search of a problem. It's not so hard to argue that the current state of the nation has left many people disappointed—in some cases, desperate for something that works. But this doesn't mean that any alternative is necessarily better. Some are proving to be demonstrably worse. The Perilous Spread of the Wellness Craze By Sheila McClear A new book reveals how health-care inequality fueled the spread of anti-science conspiracy theories. What to Read Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson Johnson's drama of the American frontier is barely a novel; the thin paperback can be started on a hot afternoon and finished by happy hour. Yet it has accrued a devoted following in the nearly 15 years since it was published, because it conjures a great expanse—the mythic West. Its main character, Robert Grainier, works as a contract laborer for the railroads running through Idaho and Washington State. Sweating and straining, he hauls down giant conifers in the region's old-growth forests. He feels a sweet freedom while riding over freshly laid rail, watching the wilderness blur by through a boxcar's slats. Train Dreams is not overly romantic about its time and place: In the first chapter, Grainier's boss orders him to throw a Chinese laborer off an unfinished bridge. A curse later seems to fall upon Grainier. He experiences God's cosmic vengeance, a cleansing fire racing across the dry landscape. Johnson has a cinematic style, lingering on images. But the novella barrels forward with the locomotion evoked in its title, until the end of Grainier's days, and the end of the Old West. Give it a few hours in June, and it may hold on to your imagination until August. — Ross Andersen 📚 Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson, by Mark Kriegel 📚 Charlottesville: An American Story, by Deborah Baker Your Weekend Read The Talented Mr. Vance By George Packer J. D. Vance poses a problem, and at its core is a question about character. In the years after the 2016 election, he transformed himself from a center-right memoirist and public speaker, offering a complex analysis of America's social ills and a sharp critique of Donald Trump, into a right-wing populist politician whose illiberal ideas and vitriolic rhetoric frequently out-Trump the original. According to Vance and his supporters, this change followed a realization during Trump's first term that the president was lifting up the fallen working class of the heartland that had produced young J. D. To help his people, Vance had to make his peace with their champion. According to his critics, Vance cynically chose to betray his true values in order to take the only path open to an ambitious Republican in the Trump era, and as a convert under suspicion, he pursued it with a vengeance. In one account, a poor boy from the provinces makes good in the metropole, turns against his glittering benefactors, and goes home to fight for his people. In the other, the poor boy seizes every opportunity on his way up, loses his moral compass, and is ruined by his own ambition.
Business Upturn
6 days ago
- Health
- Business Upturn
NIQ Report Reveals 2025 Global Health & Wellness Trends
CHICAGO, United States: Wearable tech and conscious buying are influencing health and wellness spending habits Consumers worldwide are more skeptical of health claims by food companies (62%) and want more transparency in product labels (82%). Globally, 43% of consumers would consider taking anti-obesity medication if recommended by their healthcare provider. Globally, 39% of consumers view ultra-processed foods negatively, North Americans (48%) among the highest of any region. NielsenIQ (NIQ) today launched its Global State of Health & Wellness 2025: Navigating the shift from health trends to lifestyle choices, the first report of its kind for NIQ to examine emerging consumer behaviors around health and wellness. The findings include regional deep dives in 19 countries, focusing on the critical topics of trust and influence, nutrition, weight loss, mental wellness, health technology, and conscious buying within health and wellness. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: According to NIQ, consumers are increasingly making choices for their future health—70% of global consumers believe they are proactive in managing their health and 57% now prioritize 'aging well' more than they did five years ago. As a result, 55% of consumers are willing to spend over $100 a month on better nutrition, self-care, physical and mental health, and more. However, consumers are growing increasingly skeptical about health claims. Globally, 82% say labels on health and wellness products need to be more transparent and easier to understand, and 25% say that their lack of trust that wellness products or services will be effective is stopping them making healthier life choices. 'To thrive in the evolving wellness market, brands must go beyond product innovation to deliver clarity, transparency, affordability, and trust,' said Marta Cyhan-Bowles, Chief Communications Officer & Head of Global Marketing COE. 'Consumers are ready to invest in their well-being but need guidance. Companies must ensure their products are accessible, transparently labeled, and competitively priced to win consumer loyalty.' Top Consumer Trends in Health and Wellness in 2025 To capture shifting consumer preferences and what it means to live well, manufacturers and retailers must connect with today's holistically minded and better-informed consumers in ways that focus on their priorities. Nutrition and gut health are driving healthy food and beverage choices: Half (53%) of the consumers across 19 surveyed countries say they plan to buy more high-fiber foods in 2025, while around 40% plan to buy more superfoods, high-protein plant-based foods, or probiotic foods. Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) are transforming weight loss management: More than half (54%) of consumers place more importance on healthy body weight, shape, and muscle tone now than they did five years ago. Four in 10 (43%) would consider taking AOMs if recommended by their healthcare provider, but 63% globally are not familiar with the medications. Health-related technology is a growth area in the global Consumer Tech & Durables market: Three-quarters (74%) of consumers would prefer a tech product with extra health and wellness features over one without. Nearly two-thirds (63%) believe that health-focused technology products are effective in helping to improve their health and wellness, and 57% say they would use an app or screening device that ensures the products they purchase align with their personal health priorities. Consumers are focusing on self-care and wellness: Nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers prioritize getting quality sleep and looking after their mental health more than they did five years ago. They also plan to do more activities like spending time in nature (60%), massage and muscle relaxation (40%), yoga and meditation (35%), or aromatherapy (24%). Conscious buying—the global demand for socially responsible products is on the rise: Personal well-being and societal responsibility are becoming increasingly interlinked in consumers' outlooks. In fact, 70% of surveyed consumers say they believe it's 'important' or 'very important' that the health and wellness products they buy are also eco-friendly and/or ethically produced (e.g., fair trade, cruelty-free, higher animal welfare), and 71% are willing to pay more for wellness products with these attributes. Key Takeaways for Brands 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. 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. About the Global State of Health & Wellness 2025 Report This flagship report focuses on global forces that are shaping consumers' developing needs and findings around consumers' health and wellness awareness, aspirations, motivations, barriers, and future buying intentions. To understand how these trends are impacting your local market, download a free copy of the global report and one or more of the five Regional Insights Companions that dig deeper into specific markets across Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East & Africa; Latin America; North America; and Western Europe. Research Methodology NIQ's 2025 Global Health & Wellness survey was conducted in January and February 2025. Nearly 19,000 adult consumers were interviewed online in the following 19 countries: Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. Data reflects the adult grocery shopping population in each respective country. About NIQ NielsenIQ (NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. NIQ combined with GfK in 2023, bringing together two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. Our global reach spans over 90 countries covering approximately 85% of the world's population and more than $ 7.2 trillion in global consumer spend. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. For more information, please visit © 2025 Nielsen Consumer LLC. All Rights Reserved. View source version on Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
AU Financial Review
6 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
JPMorgan M&A boss Anu Aiyengar's warning for Australian companies
While talking heads gasbag about business being more local in the Donald Trump era – geopolitics, regional champions, trade wars, etc – North Americans keep snapping up Australian businesses. To create regional champions? Nope. It's global expansion, baby.
Toronto Sun
23-05-2025
- Health
- Toronto Sun
Vitamin D may slow a process related to aging, new study suggests
The vast majority of North Americans are already getting enough vitamin D from diet and sunlight, experts say Published May 23, 2025 • 5 minute read Getting some Vitamin D in the sun. Photo by Stock photo Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. People who have a higher vitamin D intake may be slowing down a biological process linked to aging, according to a study published this week. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But don't rush out to buy supplements just yet. The findings need to be confirmed with additional research, and the vast majority of people in North America are already getting enough vitamin D from diet and sunlight, experts say. In the new analysis, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and other universities looked at telomeres – the protective caps of DNA code at the ends of chromosomes – which tend to shorten as we age. It's a biological 'clock' of sorts, and shorter telomeres have been linked to an increased risk of certain diseases. Vitamin D supplements, though, may slow that shrinking process, the new research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While previous studies have shown an association between vitamin D and telomere length, most were observational. The new study is randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled, lending more credence to the findings. 'We think these findings are promising and warrant further study. But we think that the replication will be important before changing the general guidelines for vitamin D intake,' said JoAnn Manson, a co-author of the study and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. – – – Reduced telomere shortening The findings are part of a larger study, called the VITAL trial, that Manson and other researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have been conducting for five years. It involves 25,871 participants – U.S. women age 55 and older and men age 50 and older – who have been given 2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 a day and 1 gram of Omega 3 fatty acid a day to determine their effects primarily on cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The telomere study focused on about 900 of those participants, largely from Boston, whose telomere length in white blood cells was assessed at baseline and again in years 2 and 4. Researchers found that compared with the group taking the placebo, those taking vitamin D supplements had reduced telomere shortening over four years. Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation, on the other hand, had no obvious effect on telomere length. – – – How telomeres may be associated with aging During each cell division, telomeres ensure that the cell's chromosomes do not fuse with one another or rearrange themselves, and with each replication, the telomeres shorten a bit. This process is associated with aging as well as an increased risk of infections, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers think that vitamin D supplementation's benefit is related to tamping down inflammation, Manson said. Inflammation has been associated with autoimmune diseases as well as cancer. – – – Healthy diet and lifestyle are critical While vitamin D may have benefits, Manson emphasized that it is not a cure-all. There are many chronic diseases that do not seem to be reduced by vitamin D supplementation, she said. 'Dietary supplements will never be a substitute for healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, and we've made it very clear time and again that the focus should be on the diet and lifestyle rather than on supplementation,' she said. 'However, targeted supplementation for people who have higher levels of inflammation or a higher risk of chronic diseases clearly related to inflammation, those high risk groups may benefit from targeted vitamin D supplementation.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The telomere study was randomized, meaning participants were randomly assigned to either the vitamin D supplement group or the placebo group to ensure that characteristics such as age, health status, diet and lifestyle are balanced between the groups. Randomization is considered the gold standard in clinical research because it makes the groups as similar as possible at the start of the study. 'All of the risk factors for chronic disease, for telomere shortening, the age, the demographics, the physical activity, diet, underlying health, hypertension, diabetes, all these risk factors are balanced out by the randomization process,' Manson said, meaning the only difference between the two groups was that one received vitamin D and one did not. And the study was also 'double-blinded,' meaning that not only did the participants in each group not know which was receiving the supplement, but neither did the technicians administering it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. – – – What other research and experts say Not all studies have been as promising with regard to telomere preservation. A paper published in 2023 in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, for instance, concluded that 'routinely supplementing older adults, who are largely vitamin D replete, with monthly doses of vitamin D is unlikely to influence telomere length.' Between 2014 and 2020, researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, led a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 1,519 participants, to see whether vitamin D supplementation would affect telomere length. They gave the supplement monthly to half of the participants and found no difference between those who received it and those who did not. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carol Greider, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for her discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that protects telomeres from shortening, said in an email that she was skeptical of the new study's findings. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction, or qPCR, an assay that was used in the recent study to measure telomere length, has been shown in a number of publications to be unreliable, Greider wrote. The clinical standard for measuring telomere length is a technique called Flow FISH, which is highly reproducible. Greider also noted that different subtypes of blood cells have different telomere lengths, so any changes in the cell type distribution in the blood could raise or lower the blood's average telomere length, not because the length changed but because the types of cells present changed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She cited a perspective published in Aging Cell in March, in which the authors question research from 2024 that suggested spaceflight, like the Inspiration4 mission, which lasted just three days, increased the average telomere length of the white blood cells of those on the flight. It's not that the telomeres are longer, the authors of the Aging Cell article wrote; it's that the composition of their white blood cells changed, raising the average telomere length. 'So while there may or may not be an effect of Vitamin D on telomeres, the methods used in this study are unlikely to be able to accurately document those changes without any control for cell type distributions,' Greider wrote. For more health news and content around diseases, conditions, wellness, healthy living, drugs, treatments and more, head to – a member of the Postmedia Network. Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Celebrity
