A ‘Road to Wellness’ infographic which maps 200 years of vital dates to the US health and wellness industry has been created by the consumer research consultancy company The Hartman Group.

The infographic highlights the talking points for the ACT Culture of Health & Wellness symposium being held in Denver, Colorado, US on 26 June, to which institutions and businesses in the industry are invited.

The one-day symposium will focus on how traditional notions of health and wellness are being redefined as consumers pursue a higher quality of life.

The ‘Road to Wellness’ poster path begins with the foundation of homeopathy by Hahnemann in 1810 and continues through to the Hartman Group’s publication of the fourth Health & Wellness syndicated study in 2010.

The message portrayed by the graphic is “the health and wellness trend is not a fad and it is not going away.”

Statistics embedded in the graphic reveal that stress is a concern for 56 per cent of millennials and 60 per cent of 'Generation X'. The data also shows that interest in vitamin D soared in 2010, with 60 per cent of consumers adding more of this nutrient to their diets.

The data shows that over half of all consumers (54 per cent) say they have recently changed their views on health and wellness, and 32 per cent of consumers have consumed functional drinks in the past 30 days, according to the study.

Interesting developments charted on this consumer research-based journey to wellness include the appearance of the first low carb diet in 1825 – Graham’s crackers were invented soon after in 1873, the cigarette diet of 1925, the opening of the first Burger King in 1954, Weight Watchers’ first meeting in 1961, the boom in usage of high-fructose corn syrup in 1975 and the publication of Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution in 2002.

To see the infographic, click here.