More than 30,000 healthier product choices have been made available to consumers between 2002 and 2013, according to the 2014 Health & Wellness Survey released yesterday by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The new choices represent an additional 10,000 in just the last four years. "Consumers want to eat better and they want to do so in a way that fits their lifestyles. The 2014 GMA Health & Wellness Survey demonstrates that the industry has responded to this need in a significant way. America's food and beverage companies have made available to consumers thousands of new and reformulated product choices that are less in calories, fats, sugar, and sodium to help them build healthy diets for themselves and their families," said GMA president and CEO Pamela G. Bailey. The 2014 GMA Health & Wellness Survey data was collected and analyzed by Georgetown Economic Services. Sixty-nine companies, representing more than half of US...

A thin ring inserted into the eye could soon offer a reading glasses free remedy for presbyopia the blurriness in near vision experienced by many people older than the age of 40, according to a study released by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. A corneal inlay device currently undergoing clinical review in the United States improved near vision well enough for 80 percent of the participating patients to read a newspaper without disturbing far distance vision needed for daily activities like driving. Presbyopia affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. As people age, the cornea becomes less flexible and bends in such a way that it becomes difficult to see up close. Although the most common remedy is wearing reading glasses, a host of new corneal inlay products are in development to treat the condition, with three types currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The theoretical advantage...

A new survey findings released on World Osteoporosis Day by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) show that 90% of the 13,258 adults questioned are unaware of men's risk for osteoporosis and how common osteoporotic fractures are in men. Osteoporosis can lead to painful fractures, disability, and early death, but the disease continues to be ignored by the general public and neglected by doctors during routine physical check-ups. With 1 in 5 men aged 50 years or older affected, the data confirm that although common, serious, and potentially life-threatening, osteoporosis remains a vastly underestimated and neglected health issue. The multi-national survey, carried out in adults from 12 countries, showed that this ignorance was universal and independent of gender or geography. Professor John Kanis, president of IOF, said, "The sad reality is that by not knowing their risk, men are leaving themselves vulnerable to a future of pain, disability, and possibly early death. The...

For the seventh consecutive year, leading health and hygiene brand, Safeguard, is partnering with Ministries of Health and Education around the world to capitalize on Global Handwashing Day, October 15, as the perfect opportunity to educate and inspire kids to wash their hands. Almost a decade has passed since published research identified hand washing with soap as 'the most important medical remedy for children in developing countries' and today this finding is more pertinent than ever. That's why teaching children how to eradicate disease-causing germs through proper hand washing is a key component of Safeguard's mission to help people protect the health and development of loved ones. A proud partner of the Global PPPHW (Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing), Safeguard has always been a prominent supporter of Global Handwashing Day, donating $140,000 since its inception in 2008. Each year the brand employs a comprehensive communications campaign encompassing media relations, social engagement,...

As the United States deals with the Enterovirus D68 and while Ebola is a daily headline, a national survey reveals Americans, unfortunately, cut corners with their hand washing habits. The survey discovered that Americans don't wash long enough, don't always use soap and sometimes don't wash at all after using a public restroom. The findings are part of a Healthy Hand Washing Survey conducted by Bradley Corporation, an international manufacturer of commercial hand washing products. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends washing for at least 20 seconds to allow enough time to remove and rinse off germs, the survey indicates the majority of Americans (55 percent) are cutting that time short. The CDC suggests singing "Happy Birthday" twice to hit the 20-second mark. And, while it may seem surprising, 70 percent of Americans admit they've simply rinsed their hands with water instead of soaping up after using a...

Two new studies focus on reducing the incidence of food allergy in children: Skin barrier: Key Starting Point Research at University of Cork conducted on 1,900 Irish children in early infancy explored, non-invasively, their skin barrier function by measuring water evaporation from babies' skin. It showed that skin barrier dysfunction predicts food allergen sensitisation at two years of age. The hypothesis is that defects in the skin barrier could be the key starting point of food allergy. "Now that we have shown that sensitisation to food allergens occurs across a dysfunctional skin barrier, the next step would be to instigate an intervention to see whether we can protect the skin barrier in early infancy, and to assess then whether that would decrease the rate of food sensitisation and allergy in children," explains Dr. Maeve Kelleher, Baseline Team Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University College Cork. Jonathan O'B Hourihane, Professor of Paediatrics...