Baby Boomers’ Disabilities Continue to Draw International Media Coverage

Media continued to report on a study led by Teresa Seeman, professor of geriatrics and epidemiology, finding that Baby Boomers are entering their 60s with more disabilities than they did in previous generations. Many outlets carried stories, including Reuters and KNX 1070AM Nov. 12; the Chicago Sun-Times, the Baltimore Sun, HealthDay News, the Daily Mail (U.K.), Investor’s Business Daily, the Times of India and Asian News International Nov. 13; The Australian Nov. 14, the Globe and Mail (Canada) Nov. 16, and United Press International Nov. 17. Seeman and Dr. Arun Karlamangla, assistant professor of geriatrics, were quoted in the Reuters story. The study appears in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

“Contemporary 60-somethings More Disabled”

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/11/17/Contemporary-60-somethings-more-disabled/UPI-79371258440809/

“Fat Boomers Less Able to Do Chores: U.S. Study”

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5AB5X120091112

“Health Time Bomb Hits Baby Boomers”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1227670/Health-timebomb-hits-baby-boomers-Over-60s-suffer-illnesses-caused-bad-diet-lack-exercise.html

“Baby Boomers May Prove More Disabled Than Their Elders”

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=632970

Junk Food Comprises Nearly One-Third of Calories in American Diet

According to a large national survey, nutrient-poor food (or “junk food”) is responsible for almost 30% of the calories in an average American diet.

Research out of the University of California, Berkeley reveals that nearly a third of American’s calories come from “empty calorie” foods such as sweets and desserts, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, with another 5% coming from salty snacks and fruit-flavored drinks. Lead researcher Gladys Block, a professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the university, used data previously collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Block analyzed responses from 4,700 adult participants who were asked to report everything they had consumed in the previous 24 hours.

"We know people are eating a lot of junk food, but to have almost one-third of Americans’ calories coming from those categories is a shocker. It's no wonder there's an obesity epidemic in this country," Block said in a statement.

Sodas contributed 7.1 percent of the total calories consumed. By category, “sweets” topped the list, followed by hamburgers, pizza, and potato chips.

Fruits and vegetables made up a mere 10 percent of calories in the average diet.

"It's important to emphasize that sweets, desserts, snacks, and alcohol are contributing calories without providing vitamins and minerals," said Block. "You can actually be obese and still be undernourished with regard to important nutrients. We shouldn't be telling people to eat less, we should be telling people to eat differently."

Block G. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Volume 17, June-August 2004, 439-447.

Obesity Linked to Many Cancer Cases in U.S.

Researchers Say Excess Body Fat May Be a Cause of Multiple Cancers
By Todd Zwillich
WebMD Health News

As many as 100,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the U.S. each year if Americans get rid of their excess body fat.

That's according to estimates released by the American Institute for Cancer Research. The estimates suggest that heart disease, diabetes, and joint problems aren't the only illnesses in which rampant obesity is causing havoc.

The group says overweight and obesity could be the cause of more than 6% of all the estimated 1.6 million cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

A 2007 report from the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Foundation reviewed hundreds of studies and found what researchers called "convincing evidence" that obesity was tied to several cancers. Those included cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, and kidneys. It also included colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer (a form of uterine cancer).

Researchers also said it was "probable" that excess abdominal fat was a cause of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Experts took estimates of obesity's influence on cancer and applied them to a breakdown of the approximately 1.6 million U.S. cancer cases per year.

The researchers estimate that excess body fat is the cause of 33,000 breast cancer cases each year, nearly one-sixth the total cases in postmenopausal women. Obesity could be to blame for nearly 21,000 cases of endometrial cancer and more than 13,000 cases of colorectal cancer per year.

Researchers stressed that the figures are only estimates, and that individual cancer cases can have many, inter-connected causes.

"We believe these estimates are as good as it is possible to achieve, given the available data," says Tim Byers, MD, PhD, interim director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and a co-author of the report.

Cancer is more often blamed on influences like smoking and other toxic exposures than it is blamed on obesity. Smoking does cause many more malignancies than excess body fat.

But Larry Kolonel, MD, PhD, deputy director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, says there are strong reasons to believe that excess fat can give rise to cancer. Fat cells produce estrogen, which are now known to be a factor in breast cancer and endometrial cancer. Fatty tissue also affects the way the body metabolizes insulin, which can alter how sugar is processed and how it ultimately gets to cells.

Fatty tissue, also known as adipose tissue, produces hormones on its own that could play a role in promoting cancer cells, Kolonel says. It also has been shown to produce chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body. That inflammation can spark immune responses that may also be linked.

"It is not implausible that adipose tissue can be a risk factor or a causal factor for cancers," he says.

The estimates suggest maintaining a normal weight could prevent half of all endometrial cancers, a third of all esophageal cancers, and a quarter of all kidney cancers.

"We can have a very substantial influence," Kolonel says.

As Economy Is Down, Vitamin Sales Are Up

By ALEX WILLIAMS (NYTIMES.com)

It was a nasty head cold that sent Kerry Parham to Cinagro’s, a health-food store in suburban Cleveland, for an $8 bottle of herbal supplements.

“If I had a job with health insurance, I probably would have gone to see a doctor by now,” said Ms. Parham, 39, who lost her clerical job at American Greetings a while back. “But instead, I’m here buying echinacea. I hope it works.”

In flusher times, Ms. Parham said, she spent $50 a month on prescriptions for her asthma, allergies and other chronic problems. Now, she pays $6 a month for over-the-counter protein supplements and oregano oil capsules. “That’s an important savings for me,” she said. “It means I can rent a movie or make the kids food that they actually like.”

A lot of consumers seem to be doing the same math. Sales of vitamins and nutritional supplements, which have grown consistently for years, have surged in recent months, rising as the stock market has fallen. People are clearly cutting back on many items, from bread and milk to designer jeans and flat-screen televisions, but they are stocking up on pills that they think can spare them expensive doctor visits.

“When you go to the formal health system, you very quickly lose control over what this costs you,” said Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics at Princeton whose specialty is health care policy. Instead of turning immediately to a doctor, “people try to initially tough it out,” he said.

Professor Reinhardt sees the growing interest in vitamins and herbs as a logical extension of the concept of “consumer-directed health care” — the idea that people will take more preventative measures if their insurance deductibles are set higher — which has been working its way from conservative policy circles toward the mainstream over the last 20 years. Critics say this approach leads to predicaments like Ms. Parham’s, with people staying sicker longer and avoiding much-needed medical treatment.

At the Vitamin Shoppe, a national chain with 414 stores, customers have been expressing alarm over health care costs and the high unemployment rate, said Tom Tolworthy, the company chairman. “The reduction of benefits associated with prescription drugs is sending people to prevention and alternative health care,” he said.

The Vitamin Shoppe has tracked a rise in new customers of about 20 percent over the last six months, Mr. Tolworthy said. That increase is at least 25 percent higher than the rise in new customers that the chain saw in the recession of 2001.

Nationally, the numbers tell a similar story. For the three months ending Dec. 28, sales of vitamins rose nearly 8 percent compared with the same period in 2007, according to Information Resources Inc., a market research company in Chicago. At the same time, sales of other health-related products — like cough and cold remedies, first-aid products and pain relievers — have been dipping, according to the Nielsen Company.

The strong sales of vitamins and supplements have continued into this year. “Our best January and February in history are the ones that just happened,” said Tom Newmark, chief executive of New Chapter Inc., a 26-year-old supplements manufacturer in Brattleboro, Vt.

Direct evidence linking the rise in sales to the recession is more anecdotal than scientific, though industry analysts said they saw the same correlation — though less pronounced — in previous downturns.

“I don’t have health insurance, so I can’t go and see a doctor because it’s very expensive,” said Jacqueline Kreiss, an unemployed hairstylist and makeup artist in Manhattan who joined the frequent-buyer club at the Vitamin Shoppe a few months ago. “The economy just really put me backward, so I started relying on the vitamins.”

Whether a testament to vitamins or the power of placebo, Ms. Kreiss, 40, said she was happy with the results. “I feel very energetic,” she said. “I feel strong again. I feel I’m in full form to go out there and get a job.”

Certainly, America’s interest in supplements did not begin with the current recession. The industry has accounted for as much as $23 billion in domestic sales annually in recent years.

Even so, the jump in sales last fall amid such widespread financial distress caught some people by surprise. “We didn’t expect that,” said Patrick Rea, publisher and editorial director of Nutrition Business Journal, a trade paper based in Boulder, Colo. “We were like, ‘What’s going on here?’ ”

Doctors caution against putting too much faith in supplements, and recent studies have cast doubt on the long-term effectiveness of products like multivitamins and vitamin E for certain cancers and heart disease. Dr. Edward L. Langston, a former chairman of the board of the American Medical Association, said he counseled his patients to take limited doses of vitamin C, but said supplements were no “panacea,” nor a substitute for traditional health care.

“A little common sense here goes a long way,” Dr. Langston said.

But science does not seem to have shaken everyone’s faith. Amy Breslin, who is 33 and studying to be a physician’s assistant, has pared back on fresh fruits and vegetables and stocked up instead on fish oil capsules and antioxidant supplements.

“Organics are expensive,” she said at a vitamin store in Los Angeles. “Supplements may be more of a bang for my buck.”

Because of consumers like her, supplement sales have been a rare bright spot for Whole Foods. “We just reported our first quarter of negative growth in our company’s history, but the supplement area is performing better than the rest of the store,” said Jeremiah McElwee, a senior coordinator who oversees supplements sales for the company.

While multivitamins and fish oil capsules have sold particularly well, many people have their own personal favorites. Monique Miedema, who is 42 and works in finance in Los Angeles, places her faith in a supplement called Adrenal Health, which its manufacturer, Gaia Herbs, describes as a mix of six herbal ingredients meant to “support calmness.”

“There was no salary increase this year, and I live in Santa Monica in a high-rent apartment,” she said. Holding up a little brown bag with her purchase, she added, “I’ve been doing this more.”

In today's flat economy, direct sales is enjoying a renaissance - with new twists

SHOP-AT-HOME PARTIES: In today's flat economy, direct sales is enjoying a renaissance - with new twists
By Lashonda Stinson Curry
Published: Sunday, November 1, 2009

Going to a party these days involves food, friends and a checkbook.

Sales parties are taking over more and more living rooms, but it's not just Tupperware and Avon this time around. Women are being invited to people's homes to buy cookware, candles, jewelry and scrapbook products. Parties are even popping up where guests leave with money, such as the popular gold jewelry parties.

Cindy Grimes of Ocala has invitations right now for three parties - Pampered Chef, PartyLite and a gold party - but she's also busy being a hostess. Since March 2007, she has been selling lotions, oils, creams, lingerie and adult novelties and educating women about their bodies as an independent Slumber Parties distributor. The ladies-only parties, she said, have all the elements of a real sleepover - girls laughing, joking, bonding and talking about guys and sex.

"I always said, if I was ever going to sell anything, I would want to sell something you can't find anywhere else. Women are not as open as men when it comes to walking into that kind of place or buying items online, so these parties work out perfectly. There's no recession when it comes to sex, because people are still coming to the parties and buying."

Sensaria Natural Bodycare, a direct-selling company which offers natural skin care products, has done well during the tough economic times.

Sean Marren, Sensaria's director of marketing communications, said they have welcomed more than 1,300 new representatives since January and are on track to present well over 12,000 in-home "spa experiences" this year.

"We have seen that, even in a tough economy, people still value quality products and the connection, fun and friendship a home party delivers. So far this year, we are pleased with our success. Our sales are up 18 percent since June, and the number of spa experiences is up 26 percent since then as well," he said. "We are particularly happy with our recent success in Florida, where we have welcomed hundreds of new representatives to the Sensaria family."

The Pampered Chef doesn't release sales information because it is a privately-held subsidiary, but the company has experienced more than a 6 percent increase in new consultants through the third quarter of 2009, said Andria Rosell, public relations manager.

Nancy Klein of Freeman Public Relations, which handles public relations for PartyLite, said the candle and candle accessories company also is seeing a "significant increase" in the number of people starting PartyLite home-based businesses. PartyLite has nearly 25,000 consultants in the United States, and the interest continues to grow. In just three weeks of starting a Facebook page, PartyLite had 36,000 people join the fan page.

"Direct selling has always been a powerful option for people who want to take control of their own lives, determine their own work hours and earn extra income. But with job losses and underemployment affecting so many, direct-selling businesses like PartyLite have become a 'Plan B' for families that have been affected by the economic downturn," she wrote in an e-mail statement.

Grimes found out about Slumber Parties after seeing it on a "Today Show" segment a few years ago. Like most women who work for direct-sales companies, Grimes has a full-time job. However, she believes the economy is playing a part in the home-party business boom.

"Even with a full-time job, these days, there's not a real certainty of security, so doing something like this is a little insurance policy," she said. "If you lose your job, you can still have some source of income."

Typically, the hostess of these kinds of parties gets a percentage of the product sales, free products totaling a certain amount or substantial discounts. If you work for the company as a consultant, then there is a sales commission from what guests purchase.

Rebecca Barbee-Kidwell of Gainesville has been a Pampered Chef consultant for almost 10 years. She has about four to six shows booked a month to sell the cookware and serveware, but she also hosts a party every few months for other direct-sales companies. In the past year, she's attended parties for Sensaria Natural Bodycare, Creative Memories and Princess House.

"Some consultants are probably struggling due to the economy, but I think a lot of people are preferring to shop from their home or at a friend's home rather than haggling with sales people at the mall or department stores," she said. "I enjoy seeing what kinds of products are out there when I attend shows and getting to touch, try on and use the products before I buy them. I love hosting shows for the free products that you earn."

Ocala resident Kimberly Peltz also thinks the rise in home parties is a reflection that "more people are trying to find means of making money at home."

More than a year ago, she started her local business Kimbows, a line of handmade hair accessories. For the past four months, she has been hosting boutique parties at people's home with her friend Kari Eary, whose business Krazy Kreations features handmade hats, scarves and handbags. Peltz said they usually have about two parties a month.

"It's really fun to do," said Peltz, 30. "I thought it was a great way to meet other women and a great way to advertise my business by word of mouth. The response has been good. They seem to like my products and the fact that it's handmade and at a great price."

Olga Modders, 37, went to her first gold party in July. She brought a handful of old and broken gold jewelry and left with more money than she expected.

"I got $375. I told myself I wasn't going to accept anything less than $75 for everything, so when he told me $375, I almost fell out of my chair. It's the best kind of party because there's no pressure to buy anything, and you get to relax and chit chat and just have fun. It was extremely relaxed and enjoyable."

She thought the party was a fun social event and easy way to make money. A month later, she hosted one at her home.

"It's a great girl's night out," Modders said. "Even if I know I don't have money, I'll go to a party just to go and hang out and have a good time."

A Never-Ending Quest for Easy Solutions

Since at lowest 1900, American consumers possess been searching for a safe and effective distance towards lose weight. As a country, it has been a losing battle. Overweight and obesity possess reached epidemic proportions. An evaluated 61 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and the trend is within the inaccurate direction. Overweight and obesity constitute the second leading inflict of preventable mortality, as soon as smoking, resulting within an evaluated 300,000 deaths per year at a pricing (direct and indirect) that exceeds $100 billion a year.

The competition towards shed unwanted pounds normally declares itself into choosing between
responsible products or software that bid mechanisms for achieving soften weight loss again time
and “miracle” products or facilities that assure fast and easy weight loss without sacrifice. Over
the course of the last century, popular weight-loss mechanisms possess included: prescription and overthe-counter drugs and dietary supplements; surgical systems such as gastro-intestinal bypass surgery, gastroplasty (stomach stapling), and jaw wiring; the television displays of motivational weightloss gurus; ad weight-loss centers; ad diet drinks; doctor-supervised very-lowcalorie diets, finalise with their own vitamin shots, fiber cookies, and drinks; the industry of fat-free, low-fat, fake-fat, and sugar-free foods; weight-loss cooperation groups; exert trends such as aerobics and body building; and cellulite creams.

Almost everybody weight-loss consultants concede that the key towards long-term weight management lies in permanent lifestyle corrections that involve, among else things, a wholesome diet at a soften caloric level and frequent physical exercise. Nevertheless, advertisements for weight-loss products and services saturate the marketplace, with a lot assuring immediate success without the need to reduce caloric intake or increase physical activity.

This is not a novel phenomenon. In the last hundred years, various models of weight loss products and software possess benefited and forgotten popularity, ranging from the ludicrous – diet bath powders, soaps, and shoe inserts – towards the grave, such as the fen/phen diet pill combination. Around the 1900s, popular weight-loss drugs covered animal-derived thyroid, laxatives, and the poisons arsenic and strychnine; ultimately each was guided towards inflict weight loss alone temporarily, and normally towards be unsafe towards use. In the 1930s, medicine prescribed dinitrophenol, a synthetic insecticide and herbicide that increases human metabolism so drastically that organs fail, inflicting blindness and else health problems. The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) became popular within the 1950s for weight loss, and resurfaced newly, even although the FDA vulnerable it decades ago as effective only to treat Fröhlich’s Syndrome, a particular genetic imbalance befalling alone within boys. The 1990s observed an explosion within dietary accompany selling, a lot of which are of unproven importance and/or possess been associated towards severe health risks. As conferred within this inform, the Federal Trade Commission has carried lots instances against the advertisers of weight-loss supplements for making fake or dishonest publicising claims. Other products may elevate serious safety concerns. For example, consultants, involving the American Medical Association, possess raised concerns approximately the safety of ephedra, a popular diet pill ingredient,7 and Health Canada recently warned Canadian citizens against using ephedra for dieting because of its grave propensities.

The Role of Advertising for Weight-loss Products and Services
Consumers may choose from a myriad of weight-loss products and services. Consumers earn their picks based, within portion, onto advertising. Advertising that presents fake or dishonest information may distort consumer decision making. Even many troubling, whether the entire field of weight-loss publicising is issue towards wide-spread pretence, otherwise publicising sacrifices its important role within the efficient assignment of resources within a free-market economy. If the purveyors of the “fast and easy fixes” momentum the marketplace, otherwise others may feel coerced towards pursue suit or risk losing market share towards the hucksters whom assure the impossible. Public health suffers as well. The deceptive promotion of rapid and easy weight-loss solutions potentially fuels unrealistic expectations on the portion of consumers. Consumers whom suspect that it is genuinely possible towards lose a pound a day
may hastily lose interest within losing a pound or less a week.

Weight Loss: A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry
More than two thirds of American adults are trying either towards lose weight or towards forestall weight benefit, according towards a 1996 poll of 107,000 civilians via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”). The nearly 29 percent of men and 44 percent of ladies whom are trying to lose weight (an evaluated 68 million American adults) comprise a huge prospect market for sellers of weight-loss products and services. No wonder overall sales within the weight-loss/weight-control industry are burgeoning. According towards an article within the Atlanta Business Chronicle, consumers spent an evaluated $34.7 billion within 2000 onto weight-loss products and programs. This figure includes sales of literature, videos, and tapes, low-calorie foods and drinks, sugar spares, meal replacements, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, dietary accompanies, medical treatments, commercial weight-loss chains, and else products or facilities related towards weight-loss or weight maintenance.
Although gross sales information is not available, the mathematics that are available are impressively large. For example, year 2000 sales for the eight biggest weight-loss chains totaled $788 million, and sales for dietary accompanies that purport towards herald weight loss accounted for $279 million in retail shops alone. In a inform from the Business Communications Company based onto 1999 figures, gross sales for weight-loss accompanies were evaluated at $4.6 billion. This corresponds with evaluates from the CDC, based onto a five-state random-digit telephone poll, that 7% of the adult citizen used one or many non-prescription weight-loss products during 1996 through 1998. The authors extrapolate from this poll that an evaluated 17.2 million Americans used nonprescription weight-loss products during this moment period.
The size of gross sales for unsubstantiated or worthless products is not known, but it is
substantial. Infomercials, organise mail publicising, and free-standing inserts can produce tens of
millions of dollars within sales within a short period of moment for a single product, there are hundreds, possibly even thousands, of weight-loss products onto the market.

These forms of saturation publicizing do not require tall reaction rates towards be greatly profitable. As an example of the prevalence of hard-sell selling for non-prescription weight-loss products, spending onto infomercials (usually 30-minute towards an hour software pitching products for organize sale via telephone call-ins) for weight-loss and nutrition products exceeded $107 million within 1999. The alarming increase within overweight and obesity jointly with marketers’ easy access towards mass media outlets earns the corporation of weight loss a booming enterprise.

Reference/Notes
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s dub towards affair towards prevent
and decrease overweight and obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001].
See loosely Laura Fraser, Losing It: America’s Obsession with Weight and the Industry That
Feeds onto It (Dutton, 1997) pp. 19, 87-91.
See Allison, D.B., et al., Alternative Treatments for Weight Loss: A Critical Review, 41(1)
Critical Reviews within Food Science and Nutrition 1-28 (2001).

Wondering about nutritional supplements? How to choose

Wondering about nutritional supplements? How to choose
By (ARA)

Few people, including you, actually get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat - hence the major market for nutritional supplements. But how do you sift through the plethora of information out there to choose the right supplement from the thousands on the market?

Many people probably base their supplement choice on price, popularity and convenience - possibly a recommendation from their doctor or a friend. "There is a better, more sensible way to choose your supplement," says Dr. Tim Wood, executive vice president of research and development with supplement maker USANA Health Sciences.

"Evaluating a supplement is actually simple," Dr. Wood says. "Look at the quality of ingredients and manufacturing processes, the level of key ingredients, third-party lab testing, who else is using the product, and how well it fits your specific nutritional needs."

Consider quality

Quality ingredients are a must, of course, but poor manufacturing processes can negate the value of good ingredients. "Yes, finding out about how a company manufactures a supplement may take a little extra legwork, but since this is something you're considering putting in your body on a daily basis, it makes sense to take the extra steps to get as much information as possible," Dr. Wood says.

Where is the product manufactured? If it's outside the United States, the maker may not be held to the same standards as products made domestically. Congress has established Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements to mirror those already in place for food products. Your supplement maker should be following those guidelines. Or, better yet, voluntarily following the more stringent cGMPs of pharmaceutical models, as USANA does at its facility in Salt Lake City.

Key ingredients and lab testing

"It's important to know if the supplement you're taking has safe levels of ingredients, absorbs into the body effectively and actually contains what the label says it contains," Dr. Wood says. "Third-party lab testing helps assure that."

Third-party lab testing means the manufacturer voluntarily allows an outside party to test its product (in addition to its own internal testing) to ensure that:

* The supplement really contains what it the label says it does.
* There are no ingredients present that are not disclosed on the label.
* There are no unacceptable levels of contaminants in the product.

"Those are basic factors a supplement maker should third-party test for," Dr. Wood says. "USANA also tests individual ingredients and product formulas to ensure products dissolve and absorb into the body. Everyone has heard that statistic that most of the supplements we take are actually excreted out of the body in our urine, rather than absorbed. Testing helps ensure the maximum amount of ingredient is absorbed, not lost."

ConsumerLab.com is one resource for independent testing results. The organization, a leading provider of independent product test results and information, helps consumers evaluate health and wellness products. They've evaluated and approved many of USANA's nutritional supplements.

The trust of those you trust

Who else is using the supplement you're interested in? If it's favored by athletes, the product is probably achieving a higher standard, as athletes undergo rigorous testing and have to abide by strict anti-doping laws. They also rely on supplements to help them perform and stay healthy. Professional and Olympic athletes trust USANA products, and its pioneering guarantee that will compensate an athlete up to $1million should he or she test positive for any substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a result of taking USANA nutritional products.

The right fit for you

Not everyone has the exact same nutritional needs. Supplement manufacturers have responded by creating lines aimed at different genders, age groups, professions and hobbies. USANA's answer is MyHealthPak, a fully customizable selection of nutritionals. Delivered directly to the customer, and based on your individual nutritional needs, the packs eliminate the need for multiple supplement bottles, make it easy to get your full dose of supplements every day, and are easy to transport.

Forget about acne: Heart disease may be the new teenage rite of passage

Posted by Catherine Guthrie(Time.com) Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 5:44 pm

A 7-year study peering into the heart health of 20,000 Canadian teens uncovered that most already have at least one major risk factor for heart disease. The findings, presented this week at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, showed that rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity among the sampling of the country's 14- and 15-year-olds are shockingly high and appear to be on the upswing.

The most disturbing news was the rise in the number of teens with high cholesterol: from 9% to 16%. "What does this say for the future health of these young teens?" says Beth Abramson, MD, spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. "We are ringing the alarm bell. Every child has the right to grow up healthy."

While high cholesterol is certainly worrisome, obesity is at the heart of the matter (so to speak). Thirteen percent of Canadian teens are obese. And, of course, it's hardly a Canadian issue. Among American adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 17 percent are obese (meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater). That's more than triple the number of obese teens in 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 7 in 10 obese U.S. teens already have at least one risk factor for heart disease, the country's leading cause of death. Obesity also puts children at higher risk of suffering bone and joint problems and sleep disorders, not to mention mental health issues, such as poor self-esteem.

Kids 'absolutely' feel parents' stress, 30% worry about finances

Kids 'absolutely' feel parents' stress, 30% worry about finances
By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Americans young and old appear resigned to the stress in their lives: 75% of adults feel moderate to high stress, yet fewer report it's getting worse, a survey reports today.

And, children and teens are plenty stressed, too, even though their parents may not realize it.

The American Psychological Association's annual Stress in America survey not only asked 1,568 adults 18 and older about their stress, but for the first time, 1,206 young people ages 8 to 17 were asked about theirs.

"Children absolutely sense parents' stress," says pediatrician Kenneth Ginsburg, associate professor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The online survey over the summer by Harris Interactive found 42% of adults reported that their stress increased in the past year, vs. 47% in last year's survey. This year, 44% said their stress remained about the same as in 2008; 14% said it decreased.

But 36% of kids surveyed said they worried more this summer than last; 30% said they worried about family financial difficulties.

People are "probably adjusting" to the higher stress they have faced since the recession, so fewer are reporting increasing stress, says psychologist Katherine Nordal of the psychological association. "I don't think people have the incredible anxiety about the economy the same way they did last year."

Still, 24% of adults in the 2009 survey said they had high levels of stress, and 51% reported moderate stress.

Rosemarie Giovinazzo-Barnickel, a CPA from Staten Island, N.Y., who was among the respondents, was one of those who said her stress was higher this year. "I've got a lot of things on my plate. I work for a couple of accounting firms. I'm involved in PTA and the state society of CPAs. My general day-to-day life stress definitely has increased."

In addition to feeling their parents' stress, children have their own worries, including doing well in school (44%). But just 34% of parents thought their kids worried about school.

"Parents do want to perceive things as being OK with kids," says Alan Hilfer, director of psychology at New York's Maimonides Medical Center. "Parents are feeling they're shielding them from this stress, but kids are struggling more than parents are willing to acknowledge."

The 1,568 adult respondents include 235 who have children 8 to 17, but they are not the parents of the young respondents.

Giovinazzo-Barnickel says stress today is "almost like a fact of life. People are just juggling more things than they were 10, 15 or 20 years ago."

Multivitamins May Lower Heart Disease Death Risk

A team of researchers from the University of Washington report that daily use of multivitamins over a 10-year period may reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 16%.

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington recently analyzed the use of multivitamin supplements, vitamin C, and vitamin E over a ten year period. Correlations between 5-year total mortality and death from cancer or cardiovascular disease (CVD) were assessed.

Data from 77,719 Washington residents aged 50 to 76 were obtained by questionnaire. A series of analyses showed that use of multivitamins was associated with a 16% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (95% CI: 0.01-0.3). Intakes of vitamin E over 215 milligrams per day over the course of ten years were also associated with a 28% reduction in the risk of death from CVD (95% CI: 0.12-0.31).

Multivitamin use alone was not associated with a decreased risk of total mortality, but both vitamin C and E were associated with decreases in risk of total mortality. Similarly, vitamin C did not correlate with a reduced risk of death from CVD while both multivitamins and vitamin E did.

Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine

(HealthDay News) — Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine in 2007 alone, U.S. health officials report.

CAM includes medical practices and products, such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic and acupuncture, which are not part of conventional medicine.

“The bottom line is that Americans spend a lot of money on CAM products, classes or materials or practitioner visits,” Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, said during a morning teleconference Thursday.

The main reasons Americans turn to alternative medicine is for pain relief and to contribute to their health and well-being, Briggs added.

Briggs noted the survey was done to find out which areas of CAM warrant research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The survey was done without regard as to whether any of these alternative or complementary approaches actually work, she said.

In the United States, CAM accounts for 1.5 percent of all health-care costs in the United States, but 11.2 percent of all out-of-pocket costs. Total health-care spending in the United States totals $2.2 trillion and out-of-pocket costs for conventional medicine comprise $286.6 billion, according to the report.

In all, about 38 percent of adults use some type of CAM.

“Two-thirds of the money spent on CAM is spent on self-care therapies,” report author Richard L. Nahin, acting director of the Division of Extramural Research at U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, said during the teleconference.

Self-care therapies are things you can do on your own without having to see a health-care provider, Nahin explained.

Out of the $33.9 billion spent out-of-pocket on CAM, about $22 billion went toward self-care costs. Most of the money ($14.8 billion) went to buy non-vitamin, non-mineral natural products such as fish oil, glucosamine and echinacea, according to the report. That’s equivalent to about one-third of total out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs, the researchers noted.

In addition, $11.9 billion went to some 354.2 million visits to CAM practitioners such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists and homeopaths, which is about one-quarter of total out-of-pocket spending on physician visits.

Of the 20 conditions for which people use CAM, nine are associated with chronic pain, Nahin said.

“These data clearly show us that Americans use CAM to treat these conditions, often which are very hard to treat with regular medical approaches,” he said.

The report used data from U.S. 2007 National Health Interview Survey.

The report was prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine and director of the Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., said “this report lends support to the growing field of integrative medicine, which strives to blend conventional and complementary practices thoughtfully and in light of the available evidence.”

“The data reported here indicate that CAM remains very popular and its use constitutes a major portion of total health-care utilization in the U.S.,” Katz said. “This is important, as it suggests that many patients have needs or preferences not met by the prevailing practices of conventional medicine alone.”

The data also suggest that patients are increasingly informed about the evidence base for alternative medicine practices, and are shifting toward those that are better-substantiated and that’s a positive trend, Katz said.

“The persistent popularity of CAM despite the associated out-of-pocket costs attest to its important potential to address health-care needs otherwise unmet,” Katz said. “Responsible use of science and responsiveness to the needs and preferences of patients need not be mutually exclusive.”

“But there is the risk of using poorly regulated and unsubstantiated potions and practices more likely to harm than help,” he added.

More information

For more information about CAM, visit the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

SOURCES: July 30, 2009, teleconference with Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director, and Richard L. Nahin, Ph.D., M.P.H., acting director, Division of Extramural Research, U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Bethesda, Md.; David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and director, Integrative Medicine Center, Griffin Hospital, Derby, Conn.; July 30, 2009, report, Costs of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Frequency of Visits to CAM Practitioners: United States, 2007

Get slender with your blender!

Get slender with your blender with three delicious, nutritious and easy snack shakes. You won't feel deprived while keeping your diet in check through the holidays.

"You Won't Even Miss the Pumpkin Pie"

* Vanilla meal replacement powder
* 8-10 oz. water
* 1-2 tbsp pumpkin butter (or ¼ cup pumpkin puree)
* ½ -1 tsp cinnamon
* ¼ tsp ginger
* ¼ tsp nutmeg
* ¼ tsp allspice
* ½ cup ice

"Cozy Gingerbread Latte"

* Vanilla meal replacement powder
* 10 oz water
* 1 tsp molasses
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* ½ tsp ground cloves
* 1 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground dried ginger)
* ¼ tsp nutmeg
* ½ tsp vanilla extract
* 1 cup ice

"New Year's Eve Eggnog Celebration"

* Vanilla meal replacement powder
* 10 ounces water
* 6-8 shakes Angostura bitters
* ½ tsp brandy extract or 1 tbsp dry sherry
* ½ tsp vanilla extract
* ½ tsp nutmeg
* 1 cup ice

About Tannis Kristjanson, Jenny Bisset and Anne Forte:

Anne Forte has been a homemaker and mother for 25 years, creating delicious and healthful meals for her husband and their two daughters. Prior to becoming a mother, Anne studied human development and worked as a technical writer. Most recently, Anne joined Usana Health Sciences as an independent associate to promote its health and wellness products.

Tannis Kristjanson attended the American Language Master's Program at California State University, Hayward, where she taught ESL. She also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, English Language Program and in Caracas, Venezuela, for five years. Tannis is a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. She currently works as a realtor in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she raised her son and daughter. Her passion for promoting health and well-being led her to join Usana Health Sciences as an independent associate.

Jenny Bisset graduated from the University of California, Davis, in art and French, but she has always maintained a passion for health. She has spent 25 years in graphic and interior design, the past 10 years as a partner in a local staging and design firm. She is currently enrolled in a Master's in Traditional Chinese Medicine program, and is an independent associate with Usana Health Sciences. Jenny raised her children in Palo Alto, Califoria, where she lives with her husband.

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USANA Supported Clinical Study Demonstrates Improved Bone Health in Girls

Press Release
Source: YAHOO FINANCE
On 12:13 pm EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA - News) announced today that a third-party clinical study led by Dr. David Greene at Australian Catholic University (ACU National) found that use of USANA’s Active Calcium™ Chewable supplement improves bone health in young girls.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 20 pairs of identical twin girls, ages 9-12 years old, who were randomly assigned to receive USANA’s Active Calcium Chewable or a matching placebo. The results of the study found that after six months of supplementation, Active Calcium Chewable improved measures of bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and bone strength in these girls.

“We are delighted with the results of the ACU National study,” said Dr. Tim Wood, USANA’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development. “These results confirm the findings of a similar 2003 clinical trial conducted at the University of Utah. The ACU National study design, in which one twin received Active Calcium Chewable while her sister received the placebo, goes a step further and factors out genetic influences.”

Results of the ACU National study are particularly significant, because young women accumulate bone mass most rapidly during adolescence, and ideal skeletal development can only be achieved when dietary intakes of calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium are optimal during this period. Dr. Greene of ACU National said maximizing bone during the growing years was essential to offsetting the effects of osteoporosis in later life.

“It is estimated that only 10 to 25 percent of children and teens get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D,” said Dr. Christine Wood. “My own experience as a pediatrician confirms this when I question my patients about their calcium intakes. Parents and teens need to understand the potential long-term risks of chronic calcium and vitamin D deficiency during adolescence. We can’t turn back the clock as these children age into adults.” Dr. Christine Wood is an expert in nutritional medicine for children and speaks on healthy lifestyles to parents worldwide. She is also a member of USANA’s Scientific Advisory Council.

USANA Health Sciences Launches Vitamin D Supplement

USANA Health Sciences Launches Vitamin D Supplement
Press Release
Source: USANA Health Sciences, Inc.
On 6:11 pm EST, Monday November 2, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA - News) today launched its seasonal Vitamin D supplement. The supplement will be available every year from November to March, the months when many people do not get enough vitamin D.

“Recent reports show that populations around the world are suffering from vitamin D deficiency, and there is also evidence that suggests vitamin D deficiency increases during the winter months because of decreased exposure to sunlight,” said Dr. Tim Wood, USANA’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development. “The problem is widespread and increasing, with potentially severe repercussions for overall health and bone-fracture rates. USANA’s Vitamin D supplement is formulated with maximum strength vitamin D to ensure you get the vitamin D you need throughout the winter months in one tablet.”

Vitamin D is essential to bone mineralization and growth and plays an important role in the maintenance of muscle strength and coordination. Vitamin D also supports cardiovascular health and promotes balanced immune function. The current recommendation of 400IU of vitamin D per day may not be enough to prevent vitamin D deficiency during the winter months. USANA’s supplement has 2000IU of vitamin D per tablet.

Product code: 109

Recent reports show that populations around the world are suffering from vitamin D deficiency. The problem is widespread and increasing, with potentially severe repercussions for overall health and bone-fracture rates. There is also evidence that suggests vitamin D deficiency increases during the winter months because of decreased exposure to sunlight. USANA’s Vitamin D supplement is formulated with maximum strength vitamin D to ensure you get the vitamin D you need throughout the winter months in one tablet.

Health Basics
* Necessary for normal bone mineralization and growth
* Helps in the development and maintenance of bones and teeth
* Helps in the absorption and use of calcium and phosphorus
* Helps to prevent vitamin D deficiency
* The current recommendation of 400IU of vitamin D per day may not be enough to prevent vitamin D deficiency during the winter months. USANA’S supplement has 2000 IU of vitamin D per tablet.

Did You Know?
Vitamin D is produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight. During the winter months, many become vitamin D deficient because of increased time spent indoors.

Direct Sales as a Recession Fallback

By EILENE ZIMMERMAN
Published: March 14, 2009

THREE weeks before her third child was due, Susan Drucker Hunsaker had more than 20 women over to her home in Burlingame, Calif., for conversation and refreshments. She also invited them to look at Stella & Dot costume and semi-precious jewelry, which she had begun selling the week before.

Ms. Hunsaker, a former high school art teacher with a master’s degree in education, sells jewelry because she needs cash, and she needs it quickly. Her husband works on a commission basis in commercial printing sales; his income dropped by half in 2008, and he expects more of the same this year.

“We had already pared down as much as we could,” Ms. Hunsaker said. “I knew as soon as the baby came, I would probably have to go back to work. But with three children under 5, if I went back to teaching I wouldn’t make enough to pay for child care.” In the first two months of this year, she sold $12,000 worth of jewelry at six parties, taking home 30 percent of that as commission.

Ms. Hunsaker is not alone in turning to direct sales to make ends meet. Many direct sales companies report rising numbers of sellers signing up. In February of last year, 24 new sales consultants joined Stella & Dot; this February that number is 160.

The number of new sellers at Lia Sophia, another jewelry company, is up 26 percent from January-February 2008 to 2009; the number of sales consultants at the Cutco Corporation, a manufacturer and direct seller of high-end kitchen cutlery, was up 20 percent this January over last.

The average annual growth in direct sales in nonrecessionary years is 3.3 percent; during the last three recessionary years — 1990, 1991 and 2001 — it was 4.5 percent, said Amy Robinson, spokeswoman for the Direct Selling Association, the industry’s trade group.

People may use their earnings to pay off specific debts like credit cards or as a way to bring in cash while they — or their spouses — look for jobs, Ms. Robinson said. The barriers to entry are fairly minimal. Start-up kits — required by most companies — cost about $99 on average.

Products are generally sold at small parties and earn the seller a commission of about 20 to 50 percent on their sales, usually several hundred dollars a party. The median income from direct selling is $2,400 annually, according to the association, but those who recruit and manage others can earn significantly more.

People interested in direct sales often sell products they use themselves. Mindy Kershnar, who owns four Siberian Huskies, turned to selling pet products for Shure Pets of Chicago when she was laid off from her job in administration at Oracle in January.

Ms. Kershnar telecommuted from Greeley, Colo., where she and her husband recently bought a house. They need two incomes to pay the mortgage and credit cards, so Ms. Kershnar is selling Shure Pets products while looking for another job.

Products moved through direct sales, like jewelry, cosmetics or home décor items, are sometimes considered recession-resistant because most are priced under $50. And economists have made note of the lipstick factor, a term coined when lipstick sales rose during the last recession in the United States, in 2001. The belief is that in tough economic times, women cut back on pricey purchases but splurge instead on inexpensive luxuries.

The need for quick cash, however, can lead some salespeople to sign on with companies that are really pyramid or recruitment schemes, rather than true direct-sales companies. Consumer watchdog groups and the Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/invest/inv12.shtm) advise would-be sales representatives to scrutinize a company first. If a seller’s earnings grow mainly by recruiting other sellers rather than selling the product, that is a red flag.

“Most of the commission should go to the salesperson, not the recruiters above her,” said Robert L. FitzPatrick, founder of PyramidSchemeAlert.org, a nonprofit consumer education Web site. He advised asking a company how sellers are compensated

Another red flag: companies that require upfront purchases of their products, which could wind up unsold and sitting in the seller’s basement for years.

The Direct Selling Association, which requires member companies to go through a review and waiting period before admitting them, has at least one member — www.YourTravelBiz.com — now under investigation by the attorney general of California under suspicion of being a pyramid scheme. The company says the allegations are without merit.

There are many legitimate direct sales organizations, and in addition to the earnings, the experience itself — selling and possibly managing a sales team — can be valuable professionally, said Joel Whalen, academic director of the Center for Sales Leadership at the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University in Chicago. He expects that about 30 percent of recent recruits will stick with direct sales even after the economy recovers.

THAT is Amanda McCrary’s plan. She began selling Mary Kay cosmetics in December, when her husband was told he might be laid off. “We decided we needed to be proactive and put together our own bailout plan,” said Ms. McCrary, who also works full time as a human resources manager.

The couple live in suburban Detroit with their young son and are paying off college loans and other debts. Ms. McCrary sold $1,500 worth of products her first month, pocketing 40 percent as commission.
“We are putting it all into savings until we find out if my husband is getting laid off,” she said. “If he keeps his job, we will use it to pay down our debt.”

Even in skin-care advertising, youth prevails over age

Even in skin-care advertising, youth prevails over age
- Business - International Herald Tribune
By Claudia H. Deutsch

Baby boomers are so last century.

At least that is how a lot of the skin care companies see it. There may be tens of millions of baby boomers out there craving to renew their skin's youthful glow. But their children collectively represent an even bigger market for skin care regimens, and they will be around and spending on skin care for many decades to come.

Clinique is repositioning its long- standing three-step routine squarely at college students. Avon is aggressively pushing Mark., a line of beauty and fashion items aimed at 17- to 24-year- olds. Lancome is selling Juicy Tubes, lip glosses aimed at teenagers, and in Britain, a new company called Young and Pure is marketing all-natural face and hair products to girls as young as 10.

"The cosmetics people are realizing that young people have plenty of money that they are perfectly willing to spend on lip glosses and creams," said Allan Mottus, a consultant to the beauty industry and publisher of The Informationist, a trade publication. "Now they are trying to figure out better ways to reach them."

Not everyone is hopping on board, of course. Novartis, which acquired Keri Lotion from Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2005, centered a new advertising campaign in the autumn on the theme of "timeless beauty," and has a package redesign in the works for this year. But research shows that Keri Lotion has always had the strongest appeal among consumers who are 35 and older and that is the age group that Novartis will continue to focus on.

Few if any companies are actually abandoning the older crowd — anti- aging creams are big sellers. But increasingly, cosmetics companies are running parallel campaigns aimed at younger customers.

"Our core customer is still 38 to 50, but we no longer think of the under-38s as fringe customers," said Elizabeth Park, executive vice president of global marketing for Elizabeth Arden U.S. Similarly, Avon sees Mark. as an add- on, not a replacement for other lines. "Our interest in boomers hasn't diminished, but we do realize that this younger generation is concerned about skin care at a much earlier age," said Claudia Poccia, president for U.S. Beauty for the Mark. line.

The problem, the industry has discovered, is that the just-post-pimple crowd is pretty elusive. Young women are far less likely to shop in department stores than their mothers were. And department store cosmetics counters, with their fashionable consultants always ready to suggest products, have long been the retail venue of choice for introducing all but the cheapest products.

So the companies are looking for new ways to bring those younger consumers in.

The three-step program — exfoliate, tone, moisturize — has been Clinique's cornerstone product for almost 40 years. That skin care regimen can combat aging, but it can also combat oily skin.

In 2006, Clinique, which had been devoting about 90 percent of its advertising budget to magazines and newspapers rarely read by those in their teens and 20s, began to advertise on MTV and other television shows aimed at a younger audience. It took its message to Web sites like Facebook. And it began demonstrating the three-step product on college campuses.

Sales of the three-step product jumped almost 10 percent in 2006, "and I really believe it is business from new young users, not just incremental sales from our longtime customers," said Lynne Greene, president of Clinique. This year, less than 50 percent of the ad budget will go to print.

Arden has changed its ways, too. It is advertising its new Intervene Pause & Effect moisturizer in InStyle, Allure and other magazines that draw young readers. And it has also introduced a new three-in-one cleanser, for which it has mounted an Internet-based campaign aimed at women in their mid-20s "who are really just getting interested in skin care," Park said. It has priced the product at $20 for 5 ounces — low for a department store brand, but more affordable for an younger buyer's budget.

The companies have been fine-tuning the products and packaging as well. Arden's new cleanser is free of fragrance because Arden's research showed that young women do not like scented skin products.

Avon, meanwhile, has introduced the Hook Up Connector, a product that lets customers snap together a mascara, lipstick or other cosmetic (think Lego blocks in terms of the mechanics). Later this year it plans to introduce a small multi-product compact that women can load up with different products every day if they wish.

"This generation personalizes its cell phone rings and computer screens, so it makes sense to let it customize its cosmetics," Poccia said. "The freedom to mix and match is just more important to young women than it was to their mothers."

But it is in the marketing, not the actual products, that the industry's new fascination with youth comes through. None of the companies are following the old "hope in a jar" model — buy this cream and you will soon look like the beauty queen we have hired as its spokeswoman. Instead, they are using their Web sites and marketing materials to try to explain how the products work and why they are useful.

"This younger generation knows that a lot of the ingredients in the $50 jar are also in the $3 jar, but they also know that some products really can be differentiated on the basis of science," Park of Arden said.

In fact, they also know that sometimes, common household items work just as well as fancy creams to solve skin problems. They were, after all, brought up by mothers who probably knew the trick of using cucumber slices to reduce puffiness around eyes.

Americans Get Failing Grade on Diabetes Awareness

MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News/Atlanta Journal Constitution) -- Though someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 20 seconds, many Americans lack basic knowledge about the potentially life-threatening disease, according to a new survey from the American Diabetes Association.

Diabetes is responsible for more deaths each year in the United States than breast cancer and AIDS combined, but just 42 percent of those surveyed knew that diabetes could be so deadly.

"There's a real lack of awareness of the seriousness of the disease," said Sue McLaughlin, president of Health Care and Education for the diabetes association. To combat that, the organization has launched a new campaign called Stop Diabetes to encourage people with diabetes to share their stories. The effort aims to increase awareness of the disease, fight the social stigma sometimes associated with it and get more people involved in the fight against diabetes.

Those who have the disease often say the lack of awareness can feel like a lack of support.

"Living with diabetes every day is a struggle, and people don't always understand what you go through every day," said Malika Bey of Pittsburgh. Bey was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during two pregnancies, and then with type 2 diabetes after her last pregnancy.

"It would help if family members were more supportive," she said. "You know, I can't eat everything I want to eat, and at a party, nobody thinks about something simple, like getting diet drinks."

McLaughlin said a common myth is that sugar and overeating cause diabetes. But, that's not true for either type of diabetes. Diet isn't a factor at all in type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly attacks the islet cells in the pancreas, destroying the body's ability to produce insulin. And, though type 2 diabetes is more common in people who are overweight, genetics and other unknown factors -- not just diet -- can be contributors. Even some thin people have type 2 diabetes.

Still, only one-third of the people surveyed knew that too much sugar did not cause diabetes. And more than half of the respondents wrongly believed that anyone who was overweight or obese would eventually develop type 2 diabetes.

But the opposite belief -- that you won't get diabetes even though you're overweight -- can be a problem, too, experts say.

Frank Timmons, from Rockland, Mass., tipped the scales at 347 pounds. When he went to the doctor in November 2008, his blood sugar level was 350 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). A normal random blood sugar reading should be less than 140 mg/dL.

"I was kind of a train wreck," Timmons admitted in a statement released by the American Diabetes Association. But, he used his diagnosis to kick-start a new life. Just a year later, Timmons has lost 140 pounds and his blood sugar levels are back in the normal range. He said the biggest factor in his success is exercise: He walks at a brisk pace for 45 minutes each day.

"You have to make up your mind to be well," Timmons said. "It is hard to do. Once you dedicate yourself to it, you will be amazed at your success."

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, included 2,081 men and women from across the United States. Their average age was 46, and 285 of them had been diagnosed with diabetes.

The survey also found that:

* Just 12 percent knew that people with diabetes don't have to follow a more restrictive diet than the healthy diet that's recommended for the general population.
* Almost one in 10 respondents thought there was a cure for diabetes, and 19 percent weren't sure. (Although there are ways to manage diabetes, there is no cure.)
* Less than 60 percent could correctly distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
* Almost 20 percent erroneously believed that the death rate from diabetes was declining.

Overall, Americans scored a 51 percent on the survey -- a failing grade.

"This is a serious disease, and something that causes a lot of deaths," McLaughlin said. "We hope the Stop Diabetes campaign will raise awareness about how important it is to be educated about diabetes and to get screened if you're at high risk."

Those in the high-risk category include people who are older than 45, are of a race other than white or have a family history of the disease. Being physically inactive or overweight are also risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of diabetes include increased thirst, increased urination, blurred vision, tingling in the hands and feet, fatigue, dry skin and, possibly, increased hunger, McLaughlin said.