How to Adopt a Holistic Approach to Weight and Wellbeing

The way we see health is changing. It’s not just about the physical – avoiding illnesses or improving our fitness and appearance – but also our overall mental and emotional wellbeing.

We now understand that all aspects of health and wellbeing are inextricably linked, including weight management. According to the IPSOS Nutiani Consumer Wellness Research, most global consumers (90%) believe that being healthy involves looking after all aspects of wellbeing. One-fifth of respondents saw maintaining a healthy weight as the definition of overall health.

Weight management has traditionally been tied to numbers on the scale, but we now see it through a more holistic lens, focusing on how we feel, like the way our clothes fit¹. Calorie counting and restrictive diets are gradually becoming a thing of the past, as people feel more empowered to embrace lifestyle changes without compromising other areas of health.

Trust your gut

A holistic approach to weight management starts with understanding the connection between nutrition and the body, which forms the foundation of intuitive eating. Part of the anti-diet movement, intuitive eating calls on people to change their relationship with food and their body.

When we eat intuitively, we stop looking at food as “good “or “bad”, and instead embrace our body’s hunger cues to learn to eat what feels right, when it feels right. It’s as much a mindset shift as it is a new way of consuming food.

Practicing intuitive eating goes hand-in-hand with mindful eating, which is all about paying attention to what is being consumed and the effects of food on our senses. When we are distracted while eating – on-the-go, in front of the TV or computer – we are more likely to consume more than intended. By slowing down to savour food and assess feelings of fullness, mindful eaters also develop an awareness of “mindless” habits, such as emotional and binge eating².

Learning to eat mindfully and intuitively lays a strong foundation for a positive attitude towards food and holistic health.

10 Principles of Intuitive Eating*

1. Reject the diet mentality
2. Recognise your hunger
3. Make peace with food
4. Challenge the ‘food police’
5. Feel your fullness
6. Discover the satisfaction factor
7. Cope with your feelings without using food
8. Respect your body
9. Exercise and feel the difference
10. Honour your health

*By the UK British Heart Foundation

Capturing demand for mind-body wellbeing

The shift towards holistic wellbeing is creating new opportunities for innovative food products. Consumers now value the connection between mental and physical health, and weight management solutions that support intuitive eating can meet this growing demand.

Incorporating high-value functional ingredients is a crucial first step to providing consumers with the holistic solutions that they prefer. Nutiani Phospholipids 70, for instance, support weight management by helping us feel satiated because they are also a good source of whey protein. At the same time, phospholipids also build resiliency to stress³. People with lower stress levels are subsequently less prone to negative eating habits and more likely to stay physically active⁴.

Nutiani’s specialty ingredients not only address consumers’ preference for holistic solutions, but also provide customers with format flexibility to cater to increasingly hectic lifestyles. Our Health & Wellbeing Index revealed that the top three formats for weight management solutions are capsule supplements, frozen food, and ready-to-drink beverages – all of which are easy to consume while on-the-go. Our products can be readily applied to these formats, supporting customers’ innovation pipelines across health concerns like weight management.

Shaping the future of holistic nutrition

Attitudes to health and wellbeing are evolving rapidly, and weight management has expanded far beyond just numbers on the scale and physical fitness.

The next frontier of solutions will champion mental and emotional health as much as fitness and diet, as the understanding of the mind-body connection grows. There is no doubt this path to holistic wellbeing and nutrition will continue to unearth new opportunities for Nutiani and our customers.