The World Health Organization (WHO) describes health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Overall health is a congregate of a myriad of factors that start at preconception and take course through the life span. The importance of nutrition and body movement is not only imperative for physical health but also cognitive health. A healthy diet and physical activity are critical to thwart several metabolic disorders.

Practicing active nutrition as a lifestyle is both an art and science, combining a more proactive approach to health with a deeper understanding of the requirements of a human body and mind.

Active nutrition is a multidimensional approach to health. Relevant to all stages throughout life, it supports overall health and wellbeing. Inclusive of all demographics, it focuses on enhancing human performance—both physical and mental. There are a multitude of factors that contribute to performance enhancement in an active lifestyle. With more people in tune with their health, active nutrition is becoming the new normal.

Sports nutrition brands that originally focused on elevating physical performance and delivering competitive advantages have acknowledged the need for their products outside their core consumers. Today, more companies are gradually diversifying their products to focus on holistic health that appeals to consumers of any age.

According to 360 Research Reports, the global active nutrition market is projected to double by 2028 to reach an estimated USD 24.77 billion.

The need for overall health and wellness throughout all stages of life opens up a wide consumer base for the active nutrition market. There are various factors influencing the growth of active nutrition. The shift from life span to health span, focus on positive aging, and the mushrooming inclination toward fitness, where exercise and body movement are a consistent part of life, are significant in driving this growth.

However, nutrient need and demand varies among these consumer groups.

The adult active nutrition consumer understands the need to have a healthy diet, active lifestyle, and supplements for a sound body and mind. Supplements are an easy way to address nutrient gaps. There has been a bigger shift in consumers recognizing the importance of gut microbiome on overall health.

Euromonitor identifies the functional foods and beverages category as the key area for active nutrition products (Euromonitor, 2016). Many consumers are looking for alternatives to solid-dose supplements because of ‘pill fatigue’ and this opens a much broader white space to incorporate functional ingredients in food and other natural health products.

According to the Nutrition Business Journal (2021), hydration and energy are the two biggest categories for active nutrition occupying 67.8% market share followed by sports nutrition supplements, mainly powder and pills at 16%. Bars and gels make up 13.6% of the total market share with protein ready-to-drinks (RTDs) filling up the rest of the market space with 2.6% share.

Having access to products that are convenient, easy to consume, and can provide multiple benefits at once will be more appealing. As the benefits of botanicals and their core constituents are gaining awareness, their use and acceptability as functional ingredients has gone up significantly. With science behind them, nootropics and adaptogens have found use in functional beverages. Incorporation of ergogenic aids is no longer limited to sports nutrition. Caffeine is frequently being adopted outside energy drinks into chocolates and bars. Popular drinks for hydration are reformulating to incorporate ergogenic aids like creatine and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Innovators and manufacturers of sports nutrition products have an opportunity to persuade the need for their product to the active nutrition consumer.

As brands continue to identify white space opportunities, there are a variety of ingredients that can help deliver mood, anti-stress, cognitive and overall wellness benefits. Focusing on the interconnectedness of physiological mechanisms will provide an opportunity to interlace trends.

Healthy aging is no longer limited to later in life. It embraces aging and incorporates approaches focused on health sustenance, preservation, and life extension. According to the United Nations, almost 16% of the world population will be 65 years or older by 2050. Given that estimate, one in every six people will be 65+ in age. This will significantly expand the market demand for consumer products that support healthy aging.

There is a rising interest in geroscience, a scientific approach to understanding the relationship between aging and age-related diseases. In addition, inflammation, metabolism, epigenetics, and stress are all major areas of research in aging. It is key to understand how and why chronic diseases affecting primary organs can impair other organs and systems. This can provide a more holistic view of diseases that could lead to multiple possible interventions. Antidepressants are a great example. While they were created to treat depression, research studies have shown they function as analgesics that help in pain reduction. A strong brain-gut connection also makes them effective in managing IBS symptoms.

Dietary supplementation has been identified as a potential therapeutic approach to prevent the disruption of epigenetic mechanisms that can result in oxidative stress, insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, and vascular dysfunction (Wang et al., 2012).

Consumer interest in understanding label claims and the associated scientific evidence is growing. Consumers are generally more acceptable of science-driven innovations in the health and wellness sector. There has been a paradigm shift from eliminating 'bad' from the diet to including 'good' in the diet. Healthy fats are no longer bad and moderation is the key. The concept of 'mindful eating' is gaining popularity as a nutrition intervention in the health care industry. Mindful eating promotes conscious eating to develop a healthier relationship with food and manage the subsequent effects of overindulging.

Food alternatives are no longer limited to dietary restrictions. With more health and planet awareness, alternatives are widely accepted, from alternatives for sea salt to reduce high blood pressure to animal protein alternatives to help reach certain health goals. Protein alternatives are not just limited to plant protein, but also include algal sources and insect sources.

The demand for natural and therapeutic ingredients coupled with ‘pill fatigue’ will open doors to more functional food launches. Keeping wellbeing at the forefront of innovation will be key to generate interest and meet these evolving needs.

Collective physical and cognitive nourishment will contribute to a healthier civilization. Philosophers argue that happiness must be the outcome of everything we do. With happiness, life enhances and without it, life withers (Singh, 2019). Health begets happiness. Happiness begets health. Aging well is living well.