THE global wellness industry has grown very fast in the last few years. According to studies commissioned by the Global Wellness Summit, the wellness industry was worth US$3.4 trillion in 2013, or 3.4 times larger than the pharmaceutical industry.
The studies show that the healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss segment was worth US$574.2 billion in 2013, while the fitness and mind/body segment and the preventive/personalised health segment were worth US$446.4 billion and US$432.7 billion respectively.
The local wellness industry is also seeing a rise in demand. The wellness concept is growing and has become part and parcel of hospital services. Independent wellness centres have also sprung up.
Dianna Lee, group CEO of Country Heights Holdings Bhd and owner of Golden Horses Health Sanctuary (GHHS), attributes the growth in demand to the increase in lifestyle diseases and premature deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“According to the World Health Organisation’s January fact sheet, 82% of premature deaths in the developing world are caused by NCDs. In the past, most deaths were caused by communicable diseases such as viruses or infections,” she says.
“NCDs are known as lifestyle diseases. [For instance,] you smoke, you don’t eat healthily, you are exposed to a polluted environment or life is too hectic. You often see people stressed out, but I think it is more like burnt out.”
Wellness does not just mean being physically healthy, but also having a healthy mind and social well-being. Thus, many are now looking at preventive healthcare, which focuses on maintaining one’s well-being, instead of curative healthcare, which focuses on treating illnesses. As a result, wellness centres have begun offering holistic treatments and packages to cater for this group of people.
GHHS was the first private centre in Malaysia to focus on health screening services in 2001. It provides comprehensive health screening and consultation services such as ear, nose and throat screening, internal organ screening, full blood count, cervical cancer screening, and cardiac as well as nutritional assessments. It also provides genetic screening to detect one’s predisposition to common genetic diseases.
A three-year membership at GHHS for a family of four starts from RM15,000. In addition to an annual health screening, members who sign up for any of its packages can enjoy a comfortable stay at Mines Wellness Hotel (a day before the check-up) and a round of golf or a boat ride on the lake after the health screening and/or consultation.
“We set up a wellness centre in Mont’Kiara because a lot of our members are from there and we thought it would be easier for them. But after six years, we found that nobody liked going there. They prefer to drive all the way here [GHHS is located in the Palace of the Golden Horses] because the environment here is so conducive and relaxing,” Lee says.
GHHS started its traditional Chinese medicine centre in 2008, providing acupressure, acupuncture, qi gong, yoga and even Ayurvedic therapies. The centre, having adopted the philosophy of “letting the body heal itself”, combines traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine.
After the health screening, GHHS members will be seen by two doctors — one who specialises in traditional Chinese medicine and one who specialises in Western medicine. Subsequently, a dietitian will help members come up with a plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
“Marrying this two medical approaches is quite difficult. That is why our medical doctors are certified in both Western and Chinese medicine,” Lee says.
“For example, a doctor certified in Western medicine may tell you that you need Vitamin C to boost your immune system, but a doctor certified in Eastern medicine may think it is too ‘cooling’. So our doctors will prescribe ginger and Vitamin C. This means our members get the best of both worlds.”
Organic concept
Set up in 2011, The Chateau — located in Berjaya Hills, Pahang — was one of the world’s first organic and wellness spa resorts. Its CEO Teh Ming Wah says the natural and organic concept is another growing trend in the wellness industry.
“A decade ago, spa-goers were only looking for relaxation and rejuvenation, without a set of objectives or targets when they take up wellness services and products. Today, most of the wellness services and products are heading towards the natural and organic concept.
“As spa clientele become more sophisticated in their requirements, they have certain expectations when it comes to the benefits they would like to receive when using wellness services and products.”
The Chateau’s services include detoxification and weight management counselling. “Detox counselling is aimed at clients who want to detoxify their bodies through the intake of key nutrients that supports the body’s natural detoxification organs. Weight management counselling is aimed at helping clients lose weight while maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” Teh says.
Its services also include pre-natal and post-natal counselling, stress management and relationship enhancement counselling (self-healing therapy) and dry body brush (using a firm horse hair bristled brush to remove dry and dull skin on the back followed by a relaxing massage).
Medical centres
Medical centres have also recognised the demand for wellness services. Prince Court Medical Centre, for example, came out with more comprehensive health screenings and medical tests after the general public showed greater awareness of such services.
Its manager of executive health services, Nora Mohamad, says the centre started to introduce more medical tests and packages in 2008 to help the public detect chronic diseases. “Health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and kidney disorders often exhibit no symptoms. Regular health screenings make it possible for such health risks and conditions to be detected, prevented or properly treated.”
There is now heightened awareness of chronic diseases and how to prevent them via regular health screenings, she says, and its clients are becoming more knowledgeable about the common cancers and their risks. Nevertheless, some areas, such as obesity, still need more awareness.
“The most common issue today is obesity and the complications that arise from it. This [awareness] has not changed so much and it is still a challenge to change people’s mindsets about eating habits and healthy lifestyles.”
Prince Court Medical Centre provides general and routine health screenings that can be tailored to the client’s age, needs and risks. These include vital signs monitoring such as blood pressure, pulse rate and body temperature. Meanwhile, comprehensive blood work includes the detection of diabetes, liver and kidney disease, lipid profiles, blood disorders and hepatitis. There are also cardiological and radiological assessments, mammograms, abdominal ultrasound, bone densitometry, glaucoma screening, dietetic counselling and comprehensive consultation with the screening physician on the outcomes of the screening.
At Prince Court Medical Centre, prices range from RM500 for basic health screening to RM1,600, depending on the age of the person and package selected.
Lee believes that wellness will eventually be included in every aspect of a person’s life. “I think it is going to be everything in your life. Now, we buy things to fulfil our basic needs, such as clothes to cover ourselves and make us look better. But I think this will change, and in the future, people will buy things because it is good for their body. Soon, everything created for sale will have a wellness element. It will be an aspect of every consumer product,” she says.
“Perhaps, in the future, when you sit on a chair, it will automatically calculate the weight of your body and provide you with a nice massage that encourages weight loss. Also, your bed may be able to massage your acupuncture points while you are asleep.”
This article first appeared in Personal Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 15 - 21, 2015.
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