This year saw a lot of crazy and strange trends in the world of wellness. People fell into many different routines, from different types of walking and diets, to using strange weight loss drugs and cortisol on the internet. Here are details of all kinds of trends that took the internet and people’s lives by storm.
an outing
The walking trend surged in 2025 due to a cultural shift toward accessible, sustainable wellness and viral challenges, moving away from intense gym culture to making simple movement more engaging, effective and shareable. According to physiotherapists, people looked for easy, low-impact ways to improve mood, boost metabolism and build community, making walking the perfect, low-cost solution.
Taking a short walk after meals, especially after dinner, aids digestion and potentially reduces bloating and discomfort. Although it is a traditional practice in some cultures to improve intestinal motility, the term was coined by Canadian author Marilyn Smith. “By walking for as little as two minutes, we reduce our chances of developing type 2 diabetes,” he said on social media. ‘Fart Walk’ opens up the bowels and aids in better movement.
Created by Japanese exercise physiologist Dr. Hiroshi Nose, the interval walking technique is a simple 30-minute routine where the person changes their walking speed every three to five minutes. It is designed to increase heart rate during faster intervals and recover during slower phases. Warm-up: 5 minutes of slow walking.
Intervals: Alternate 3 minutes of fast walking (slightly out of breath) and 3 minutes of slow walking.
Repeat: Do this cycle 4-5 times for a 30-minute session.
Cool-down: Light stretching.
No, this is not a devilish thing, but a very structured yet simple fitness trend that has gone viral on social media and fitness blogs. The Walk encourages people to dedicate 60 minutes of brisk walking, six days a week, at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m., with a 6-minute warm-up and 6-minute cool-down. Walking for an hour will amount to approximately 6,000-7,000 steps per day, which correlates with the latest research published in Lancet Public Health, which states that walking 7,000 steps per day may be enough to boost your brain power and help protect you from a variety of diseases.
This full-body workout uses walking poles to increase speed and engage the arms, chest and core. Developed in the 1930s as off-season training for athletes, it has grown into a global movement as a simple, low-impact form of exercise, and is also supported by research from institutions such as Harvard.
maxing craze
The popularity of maxi trends in 2025 was a result of the cultural preoccupation and underlying societal concerns with social media algorithms, appearance and self-optimization.
This means aggressively increasing your fiber intake, either through whole foods or supplements, in an effort to improve digestion, aid weight loss and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. The average adult eats only 20 grams of fiber per day – well below the recommended amount – and that’s barely enough for a child. The idea behind fiber-maxing is simple: more beans, whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables on your plate.
It was a modern wellness and self-optimization trend that focuses on improving one’s physical appearance through a mix of health, beauty, fitness, and aesthetic habits popular among young boys. It is divided into two categories: ooksmaxxing is generally divided into two main categories: softmaxxing and hardmaxxing.
The first includes non-invasive, everyday practices like skin care routines, regular exercise, getting a new haircut, improving posture, and wearing well-fitting clothes. While the latter involve more intensive or permanent interventions, sometimes including dangerous practices and medical procedures such as using supplements, steroids, or extreme dieting to undergo cosmetic surgery such as rhinoplasty, chin implants, or even limb-lengthening operations.
Also called testosterone-maxxing, this trend involves “maxing out” testosterone levels to achieve an ideal masculine physique and higher status. Young men mostly engage in this, where they try to increase their testosterone levels naturally (diet, supplements) or artificially (hormones) to boost masculinity, muscle mass and performance, which is often motivated by insecurities, but has significant health risks such as infertility, heart problems and dependence, as it is usually unnecessary and unsafe.
all about that dish
This year saw a rise in fad diets, with a focus on personalized options to achieve maximum benefits. This gave rise to the craze of following very specific diets.
The meal a day became popular among celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Martin and Naomi Campbell. This means eating all your daily calories in one meal and fasting for the remaining 23 hours. Food should be eaten within an hour. Research suggested that OMAD may stimulate fat burning, improve insulin sensitivity and even trigger autophagy, a cellular cleaning process that helps remove damaged cells and support regeneration.
The protein once beloved by fitness fanatics has officially moved out of the shaker bottle and into mainstream pantries. From American media personality Khloe Kardashian’s Khloe Protein Popcorn and celebrity-supported launches by actor Zac Efron promoting protein-rich oatmeal to actor Ranveer Singh’s SuperU Protein Wafer Bar, protein became popular. Brands also joined the race by launching protein-packed snacks like kulfi, bread, coffee, roti, idli mix, cookies, chips and even water.
challenge yourself
Social media was awash with various viral fitness challenges, with celebrities like Alaya F and Neha Dhupia leading the way.
Actor Alaya F took her followers on her journey with this challenge, which is also popular among others like actor Josh Duhamel and fitness influencer Harshita Raghav. Created by American entrepreneur Andy Frisella, the challenge has strict rules: two 45-minute workouts per day (one outside), a clean diet with no alcohol or fake food, reading 10 pages of a non-fiction book, drinking a gallon of water and photographing progress daily. If you miss any work you will have to start again from day one.
- 21 day conch shell challenge
Actress Neha Dhupia, who struggles with inflammation and bloating associated with PCOS, took up the challenge this year, posting on her Instagram. The challenge involves a simple mixture: raw turmeric (haldi), a cube of raw ginger, 5-7 black peppers, 1 teaspoon nigella seeds, and MCT oil. If you don’t have MCT oil, you can substitute 1 teaspoon coconut oil, ghee, or olive oil. Mix the ingredients with water, freeze the mixture into ice cubes and consume one piece daily for 21 days.
Under the guidance of fitness coach Yogesh Bhateja, television host Kapil Sharma lost 11 kg in about 63 days following this challenge this year. The plan is divided into three 21-day phases:
First 21 days: Focus on movement through simple exercises, physical mobility, and stretching.
Next 21 days: Gradually adjust your diet, like changing the timing of milk (taking it during the day instead of late at night) and reducing jaggery.
Last 21 days: Manage emotional/behavioral habits like alcohol, overeating, and smoking to maintain the changes.
cortisol
Cortisol was one of the biggest health buzzwords this year, leading to various drinks and trends. From being the body’s main stress hormone, it evolved into something bigger.
A large number of health influencers online talked about “cortisol belly” and “cortisol face”, claiming that this phenomenon is caused by excessive release of the body’s main stress hormone. He also offers prevention strategies that range from scientific to anecdotal, along with before-and-after visuals that can convince even the toughest skeptics. Health experts warn that this trend reframes diet culture as ‘self-care’ and ‘hormone therapy’.
You’ve probably seen them all over Instagram – so-called cortisol or adrenal cocktails. A bright, flavorful blend of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar and sea salt. These are billed as the new wellness elixir to “support adrenal health” and “balance cortisol levels,” your body’s main stress hormone. Although experts warn that they ‘fix’ your adrenals or balance cortisol in a big way, this is not supported by strong science.
cortisol face and stomach
weight loss medicine
The craze for weight loss injections was a strong case in point, with diabetes drugs like Ozempic, Monzaro and Vegovy breaking the internet. These are essentially prescription, once-a-week injected medications that are used for the management of type 2 diabetes and/or chronic weight management. But reports have shown that people have started using them to lose extreme weight. Celebs like Meghan Trainor, Lizzo, Amy Schumer, and Elon Musk revealed they’ve used at least one of these. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first official guidelines recommending GLP-1 drugs.
