‘Everything we publish is 100% credible; health is lifeor-death stuff’
Claire Sanderson is the editor-in-chief of Women’s Health.
‘I’ve always been fanatical about health and fitness, so becoming editor-in-chief at Women’s Health magazine was my dream job. When I was approached, I thought, “I can’t, the job is too big.” But when opportunities come calling, you should take the meeting. After I met my now boss, I leapt at the chance.
I commute from Winchester to London every day and work out six times a week – I love HIIT, weighttraining and barre, a ballet-inspired exercise. At the moment, the WH team is planning Women’s Health Live, a three-day event in London in May, so I might spend my day working on that, meeting commercial clients or editing articles in the magazine.
WH has been first on lots of trends, including Low Intensity Steady State (LISS), when you exert yourself less but for a longer period of time, but I’m particularly proud that we were shouting about mental health before anyone else. I exercise as much for my mental health as my physical health. Earlier in my career, I became severely depressed, ending up in hospital. Last winter, we ran an issue featuring 23 women, including CEOS, pop stars and serving MPS, talking about their mental health issues. Until that point, I had been quite secretive about my own mental health issues, but I thought, “I can’t ask these women to talk about this if I don’t.” The response has been powerful – women have approached me in tears because hearing someone successful speaking honestly is inspiring to them. Leading by example is how I go about management generally. I believe people should have work/life balance. I leave work at 6pm, so my team know they can, too.
When it comes to predicting health and fitness trends, I rely on my team – they’re the ones living our brand, going to gym launches and reading research papers. We use trendforecasting agencies, world-leading experts and trainers, too. Everything we publish is 100% credible; health is life-or-death stuff, after all.’
My 2019 trend prediction
The medicalisation of wellness. People want bespoke information and tests to discover exactly what exercise and nutrition their body is responsive to. We’re also seeing the emergence of body neutrality, which is saying, ‘I’m the best I can be.’