Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Wants Easier-To-See Nutrition Labels On Most Packaged Foods, Drinks
The Food and Drug Administration wants to change how packaged food is sold in the U.S. In the waning days of the Biden administration, the agency has proposed requiring a new label on the front of most packaged food and drinks aimed at helping Americans make healthier food choices. The proposed labels would flag whether a packaged food or drink contains low, medium or high levels of sodium, added sugar and saturated fat, while also detailing the percent of the daily value of these nutrients the product contains. (Godoy, 1/14)
Fewer people are eating in a way they consider healthy 鈥 and they don鈥檛 even like it, according to new data. 鈥淚n some instances, we鈥檙e still seeing strong majorities of people saying that they enjoy their food,鈥 said Andrew Dugan, consulting principal researcher at Gallup. 鈥淏ut the decline has been pretty stark.鈥 (Holcombe, 1/14)
On obesity 鈥
Medical experts from around the globe proposed a more nuanced approach to diagnosing obesity that does not rely exclusively on body mass index (BMI) alone. Writing in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the global commission argued that to reduce misclassification, other measures of body fat -- such as waist circumference or direct fat measurement -- should also be used, along with signs and symptoms of ill health at the individual level. (Monaco, 1/14)
On osteoporosis and aging 鈥
All women ages 65 and older and at-risk postmenopausal women under 65 should be screened for osteoporosis to prevent fractures, according to a final recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). USPSTF said with "moderate certainty" that screening for osteoporosis to prevent osteoporotic fractures has a moderate net benefit in all women 65 and older and in postmenopausal women ages 40 to 64 who have at least one risk factor for osteoporosis (both grade B recommendations). (Monaco, 1/14)
麻豆女优 Health News: I鈥檓 Moving Forward And Facing The Uncertainty Of Aging
It takes a lot of courage to grow old. I鈥檝e come to appreciate this after conversations with hundreds of older adults over the past eight years for nearly 200 鈥淣avigating Aging鈥 columns. Time and again, people have described what it鈥檚 like to let go of certainties they once lived with and adjust to new circumstances. These older adults鈥 lives are filled with change. They don鈥檛 know what the future holds except that the end is nearer than it鈥檚 ever been. (Graham, 1/15)