Abstract
Background: Wellness retreats use many complementary and alternative therapies within a holistic residential setting, yet few studies have evaluated the effect of retreat experiences on multiple dimensions of health and well-being, and no published studies have reported health outcomes in wellness tourists.Objectives: To assess the effect of a week-long wellness-retreat experience in wellness tourists.Design: A longitudinal observational study with outcomes assessed upon arrival and departure and 6 weeks after the retreat.Setting: A rural health retreat in Queensland, Australia.Interventions: A holistic, 1-week, residential, retreat experience that included many educational, therapeutic, and leisure activities and an organic, mostly plant-based diet.Outcome measures: Multiple outcome measures were performed upon arrival and departure and 6 weeks after the retreat. These included anthropometric measures, urinary pesticide metabolites, a food and health symptom questionnaire, the Five Factor Wellness Inventory, the General Self Efficacy questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Profile of Mood States, and the Cogstate cognitive function test battery.Results: Statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) were seen in almost all measures (n = 37) after 1 week and were sustained at 6 weeks (n = 17). There were statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001) in all anthropometric measures after 1 week, with reductions in abdominal girth (2.7 cm), weight (1.6 kg), and average systolic and diastolic pressure (−16.1 mmHg and −9.3 mmHg, respectively). Statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) were also seen in psychological and health symptom measures. Urinary pesticide metabolites were detected in pooled urine samples before the retreat and were undetectable after the retreat.Conclusion: Retreat experiences can lead to substantial improvements in multiple dimensions of health and well-being that are maintained for 6 weeks. Further research that includes objective biomarkers and economic measures in different populations is required to determine the mechanisms of these effects and assess the value and relevance of retreat experiences to clinicians and health insurers.
Highlights
Travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, with an estimated US$7.6 trillion generated in 2014 (10% of global gross domestic product) and current growth that is faster than seen in the automotive, financial services, and healthcare sectors.[1]
The assessment of wellness in individuals may include a variety of factors, including assessment of physiologic functioning, anthropometry, happiness, depression, anxiety, mood, sleep, health symptoms, toxic load, neurocognitive function, socioeconomic status, social connectivity, and perceived self-efficacy
Of the 47 guests that attended the retreat during the study week, 37 agreed to participate in the study and provided anthropometric data
Summary
Travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, with an estimated US$7.6 trillion generated in 2014 (10% of global gross domestic product) and current growth that is faster than seen in the automotive, financial services, and healthcare sectors.[1] Wellness tourism is a rapidly growing niche segment that is estimated to have generated $438.6 billion in revenues in 2013, with growth projections that are nearly 50% faster than for overall global tourism.[2] The growth of wellness tourism is driven by demographic and lifestyle trends that include escalating health costs; recognition of lifestyle as a major cause of chronic disease;[3] and wealthier, health-conscious, proactive consumers with increasing willingness to embrace alternative and holistic therapies.[2,4] This growth is paralleled by the growth of the global wellness industry, which in 2013 was estimated to represent a $3.4 trillion industry cluster that includes beauty, antiaging, fitness, nutrition, complementary and alternative medicine, preventive and personalized medicine, wellness-lifestyle real estate, spas, thermal and mineral springs, workplace wellness, and wellness tourism.[5]. Wellness retreats use many complementary and alternative therapies within a holistic residential setting, yet few studies have evaluated the effect of retreat experiences on multiple dimensions of health and well-being, and no published studies have reported health outcomes in wellness tourists
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