Physiological ageing = Business opportunity

The Mayo Clinic has an excellent summary of all of the nasties that occur once the 50th birthday has gone. WARNING – reading this could make you seriously depressed.

There is not many physical things that go on the blink other than the:
Cardiovascular system
Bones, muscles and joints
Digestive system
Kidneys, bladder and urinary tract
Brain and nervous system
Eyes
Ears
Teeth
Skin, nails and hair
Sleep
Weight
Sexuality

Still reading? OK, now for the good news. This chronic degeneration in the physical being is a fantastic opportunity for marketers. Just think of all of the things that older people have to buy to try and keep this tsunami of physical decay from engulfing their lives.

Technology Review has an interesting article about one of the higher tech opportunities. Firstly, there is Microsoft Healthvault, described by MS as:” a way to store health information from many sources in one location, so that it’s always organized and available to you online.” Allied to this are companies providing monitoring equipment that take your vital signs and automatically update your online health record. Tanita is one of the companies providing MS compatible equipment.

The cynic in me wonders what happens if the vital signs are indicating all is not well - do you get an e-mail and/or a text to tell you to get to the nearest A&E department. I can just see the expression of disbelief from some tired over-worked nurse as you brandish your mobile with the text alert – “this patient is gravely ill – This message was automatically generated by MS HealthVault.”.

Sorry, I digress. Seriously, physiological ageing and all it entails is a multi billion dollar business. I get the feeling that for most mega companies it is one of those interesting niches. Before long it must move into the mainstream. Dick Stroud