Top 5 Most Popular Health Magazines in the World

Eshaduti Dey
12 Min Read

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Health is Wealth is an adage we had been introduced to in our childhood, but we realize its real worth now that we face an unprecedented health crisis. T.V. ads aout immunity boosters are bludgeoning our brains, Instagram posts about best health practices clog our feeds, and almost everyone has become a health expert. We are scouring the net for more information and searches like “Top 5 most popular health magazines in the world” are trending. 

In this lockdown, our goal has been fitness. Still, unfortunately, due to the ocean of knowledge before us that may have some pearls of wisdom but is mostly polluted with garbage advice, we are unsure what information to trust and which to ignore. 

The immediate need of the hour is a source of reliable information that will yield results and guide us on our journey of being fit. This is where health magazines come to the picture. For years they have been trusted as a reliable source of information about everything ‘healthy and fit1‘. 

Health magazines post high-quality articles about the latest updates in the fitness world. From nutrition to skincare, it caters to every aspect of a healthy body. But even here lies the same problem, which one to trust? To make your life comfortable, here are

5. Total Health 

Total Health provides a complete guide to Healthcare. It covers a variety of topics related to Healthcare, including mast cell, mental health, brain function, essential nutrients, cardiovascular disease, public health, and immune system. 

Does it have quality articles on pertinent questions like How to Prevent and Treat the Coronavirus? And Is Artificial Intelligence Going to Save Healthcare?

Some relevant subsections of its digital version include Natural Remedies that Help From Head to Toe, healthy recipes like gluten and sugar-free tiramisu recipe, and suggestions on how to treat cold sores and herpes infections.

The health magazine prints vital statistics like Over 60 percent of adults have a chronic disease with healthcare costs slated to reach 100 percent of our GNP by 2065, according to a leading British economist, and Over 80 percent of illness is preventable. Yet, we only spend five percent of health dollars on prevention.

The quality articles printed in the magazine like effective ways to combat diseases, boost the immune system, and treat common health problems such as aches and inflammation are the reason behind its success and popularity. 

4. Women’s Health

women's health
Editorial credit: dennizn / Shutterstock.com

Created in 2005 by Rodale, Women’s Health is a sister publication of Men’s Health that publishes 10 times annually and focuses on nutrition, fitness, sex, and weight loss tips for women. Women’s Health has a reach of 12 million people in print as of 2018. 

Women’s Health received the title of “Magazine of the Year” by Advertising Age in 2009. In 2011, the health magazine bagged the National Magazine Award for “General Excellence.” The editor-in-chief Claire Sanderson, explains the reasons behind the exponential growth here

The magazine subsection includes sex&love, food, Health, beauty, and style. Based on Rodale Inc.’s Eat This, Not That book series, the Eat this! Section of the magazine suggests healthy alternatives. 

The digital print talks about public Health, mental Health, dietary supplements, immune system, and suggests vegan alternatives.

Some articles include The 15 Best Vegan Cheeses, 15 Health Habits Experts Use To Optimize Their Immunity, 4 Queer Women Share What It Was Really Like Trying To Have A Baby, and 7 Times Kerry Washington, 43, Went Makeup-Free.

The health magazine also gives out beauty awards. The magazine owes its popularity to the diversity of topics it covers in both its digital and print versions from Can self-love cure acne to knife sharpener reviews. 

3. Prevention 

Prevention originated out of J.I. Rodale’s interest in exploring the connection between human health and organic agriculture. Founded in 1950, the health magazine was initially advertised as “a medical journal for the people.”

Prevention, owned by Hearst Communications, has 2,143,109 magazines in circulation as of 2014. The magazine has been part of many firsts. It was among the first publishers to refuse alcohol, tobacco, and junk food advertising.

It was the first magazine to state that fresh food was better than processed and to link emotions and attitudes with Health. 

Prevention provides health advice, nutrition tips, and trusted medical information. The digital version has subsections like covid-19 essentials, safe sun, body love, and from the magazine. Does the digital version have articles on intriguing topics like Are There Any Benefits to Taking a Cold Shower? And Dragonflies Are Here to Help You Fight Mosquitoes.

The health magazine has helpful articles like 60-Second Ways to Boost Your Health, How to Talk About Gender Identity and 5 Natural Ways to Improve Your Memory.  

The health magazine covers a variety of topics like brain function, public Health, benefits of vitamin E, clinical nutrition, and side effects of some types of medication. The content of the health magazine is claimed to be based upon findings in scientific journals, and hence it makes it to the most popular list. 

2. Men’s Health

Men's health
Editorial credit: dennizn / Shutterstock.com

Men’s Health, as the name suggests, is a monthly health magazine for and about men. It caters to fitness, nutrition, sex, and weight loss tips for men. 

In 1986, Mark Bricklin started the health magazine, which later covered topics like finance and technology. The most prominent editor of this magazine was Mike Lafavore, who was also the editor-in-chief of Prevention. Mike is credited with expanding the health magazine’s circulation from 100,000 to over 1.5 million.

Men’s Health has had a circulation of 120,273 from July to December 2019. Men’s Health published by Hearst, is the best-selling men’s magazine on U.S. newsstands. 

Though the magazine has 35 editions in 59 countries like France, Mexico, Australia, the digital version isn’t far behind in popularity averaging over 118 million page views a month. The magazine has been nominated for 17 National Magazine Awards, or “Ellies,” and also received the General Excellence award in 2010. 

The digital version is divided into various subsections like entertainment, fitness, food and diet, latest news, and a recent one called #WEARADAMNMASK. Some very interesting articles and videos include What to Say When Your Friend Won’t Wear a Mask, 8 Things That Can Happen When You Quit Drinking, How Olympic Wrestler Jordan Burroughs Trains for Gold and Inside Kumail Nanjiani’s Muscle Transformation.

The magazine focuses on the immune system, mental Health, and Public health. It also provides news like You Can Bid on Michael Jordan’s Rarest Sneakers. The pair in this photo is estimated to go for as much as $550,000 and also lists the fittest cities in America. 

Owing to its reliability, Men’s Health remains the go-to health magazine for men. 

1. Health 

A magazine that originated in 1981 and has gradually climbed the rungs to reach the top position with a readership of over 6 million in America’s most-trusted magazine: Health—named initially as, In Health, the magazine proves to be a catalyst to motivate women to live happy and healthy lives. Health magazine is owned by Meredith Corporation. As of 2011, the magazine’s total circulation was 1,370,770

It gives tips on eating smart, fitness regimes, weight loss secrets, and effective workouts2. Health magazine talks about improper diet, stress management, and, most importantly, mental health.

It also gives out fitness and beauty awards to brands to help you know about the best brands in categories like skincare. Health magazine publishes 10 times annually.  

The digital version is updated with the latest news about coronavirus and its impact on mental Health. It also covers healthy food recipes for a ‘fitter you’ and fashion as well as beauty tips. 

The digital print is subdivided into important issues that plague us currently like sleep deprivation, misdiagnosis, coronavirus, diet & nutrition, workout, cold & flu, retail therapy, and a section named WomenIRL that talks about women embracing and accepting their “flaws.” It also has sections related to sexual Health, relationships, and skin conditions. 

Do some interesting articles and videos include the Coronavirus Worse Than the Flu? We Asked Experts, Is It Safe to Take Melatonin Every Night? Here’s What Sleep Experts Say, How to boost your immune system according to experts, Briogeo Founder Nancy Twine on Why Diversity Is So Important in Haircare, The 5 Best Frozen Pizzas, According to a Nutritionist and the very intriguing What Does ‘Covidiot’ Mean, and Who Qualifies as One?

A news rating app called NewsGuard has rated Health magazine as reliable, pointing out that the magazine generally avoids deceptive headlines and does not repeatedly publish malicious content. This is one of the significant reasons it features in the Top 5 most popular health magazines on the world list. The app also says that the website does not often clearly demarcate sponsored content from original writing, which may drop the ratings. 

The company launched a Facebook chatbot called Balanced by Health in 2019. Good news for its loyal readers is that there have been talks of increasing investment in the magazine. Health retains the top position as the most popular health magazine because of its reliability, quality articles on unique topics as well as its ability to keep its readers updated on the latest happenings in the fitness and beauty world. 

These were the Top 5 most popular health magazines that you can subscribe to if you want reliable information on all things’ healthy and fit.

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  1. Office of the Surgeon General (US. “The Surgeon General’s vision for a healthy and fit nation.” (2010). ↩︎
  2. McCall, P. (2019). Smarter workouts: the science of exercise made simple. Human Kinetics. ↩︎

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