The Rise of "Big Wellness"

About this episode:

The wellness industry covers everything from fitness to biohacking, yoga to peptides, and it's backed by culturally and financially powerful players. In this episode: a new paper in the Milbank Quarterly covers how social media fuels the industry's proliferation, the growing skepticism of traditional medicine that allows it to thrive, and the tension between the concepts of wellness and public health.

Guest:

Nancy Karreman, PhD, is a researcher of public health interventions at the University of Cambridge.

Nason Maani, PhD, MPH, is a senior lecturer in inequalities and global health policy at the University of Edinburgh.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009.

Show links and related content:

• The Political Economy of Wellness: Commercial Determinants of a Burgeoning Industry—Millbank Quarterly

• The Outlook on Direct-to-Consumer Health Care—Public Health On Call (February 2026)

• Dietitian Influencers On Social Media Are Being Paid By the Food Industry to Promote Products and Messages—Public Health On Call (October 2023)

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