Maintaining a healthy weight is important for general health, but growing evidence reveals obesity’s role in the development of chronic illnesses and even deadly cancers.

Obesity is one of the most frequent chronic illnesses in the United States, with one out of every three adults in the nation being overweight. Excess weight has been linked to several health risks including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and more recently, colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is very common, with an estimated 150,000 new instances of colon and rectal cancer (CRC) per year, but the number of cases in young adults have been increasing rapidly over the last 20 years and excess weight may be to blame.

According to a new study published in JAMA Network OpenTrusted Source, being overweight or obese during early and middle adulthood increases the risk of developing this common and potentially deadly cancer.

The study comprised 135,161 people ranging in age from 55 to 74 and the findings suggest a strong relationship between high body fat, even in young adulthood, and the development of colon cancer later in life.

According to renowned physician and scientist Dr. William Li, excess body fat, particularly visceral fat around the organs can cause chronic inflammation, which is a known trigger for cancer development.

The findings from the study highlight the importance of prevention and also signal the need for colon cancer screening.

The US Preventive Services Task Force advises screening with stool DNA tests once every three years starting at age 45, however some individuals might want to consider testing earlier.

In the US, 16.6 million colonoscopies are carried out annually but around one-third of Americans between the ages of 50 and 75 have ever undergone a colon cancer screening.

Fortunately, molecular genetics cancer diagnostic company Mainz Biomed (NASDAQ:MYNZ) is working to commercialize its highly effective and simple-to-use at-home colorectal cancer (CRC) detection test ColoAlert in the US.

ColoAlert, which is already available in select European markets, is moving swiftly towards FDA approval following the company’s successful completion of the pre-submission process for its PMA pivotal clinical trial.

ColoAlert will be tested in the FDA-registered trial "ReconAAsense" to gain commercial approval in the United States. Once approved through a cooperative partner program with regional and national laboratory service providers, the company's business goal is to achieve scalable distribution across the country.

Expanding the Reach of Its Early Detection Tests Across Europe

Mainz Biomed has also been working to expand the presence of its flagship cancer screening test across European markets by partnering with third-party laboratories for test kit processing instead of the traditional method of operating a single facility.

On May 31, the company announced that it has expanded its commercial footprint into Poland through a partnership with TESTDNA, a leading independent laboratory in Poland.

According to Digestive Cancers Europe, Poland has a particularly high need for dependable non-invasive screening methods, as only around 20% of patients opt for colonoscopy.

With 19,000 new cases annually and approximately 12,000 colorectal cancer-related deaths, the necessity for effective at-home screening tests with early-stage detection is evident. The addressable market in Poland alone accounts for an estimated 21 million patients.

In the coming weeks, the two companies will work together to prepare and launch co-marketing activities to ensure successful commercialization in the Polish market.

Mainz Biomed has also expanded its reach within corporations following the launch of its corporate health program in Germany through a merger with BGM, a well-established corporate health program that serves employees at 48 of Germany's 50 largest enterprises.

On May 24, Mainz Biomed reported preliminary results from its colorectal cancer screening campaign with Zöller-Kipper GmbH via its BGM cooperation. Zöller-Kipper chose ColoAlert for their corporate health program, which comprises approximately 2,500 employees, in April 2023.

Employees found the online patient portal to be straightforward to use and comfortable, and they were able to easily access the portal, obtain a kit, and securely receive findings within five days, according to the results.

Youvit, formulated in the United States, has become Indonesia’s number-one vitamin gummy brand since 2017 and is now expanding its business to Malaysia. Youvit product range is a complete “one-a-day vitamin gummy" for immunity, hair fall, glowing skin, and active kids that contains natural ingredients without artificial sweetener, coloring, and flavoring. Not only it offers delightful ways to take our daily nutrient needs, Youvit is also easy to consume.

With its beauty supplements, Youvit aims to make more people aware that healthy skin and hair start from the inside and help them fulfill their beauty goals from within, whether it's hair fall or wishing to obtain brighter skin. Instead of offering a quick fix, Youvit’s two beauty product lines are helping people maintain their wellness over time: Biotin, which contains 7 vitamins and 2 minerals such as Biotin, Inositol & Zinc + Ginseng for stronger hair roots and anti-hair fall; Collagen, which contains 1000mg Collagen and Vitamin C for anti-aging and glowing skin.

Continuously innovating and knowing that according to study, up to 90% of kids do not get enough in their regular diet, Youvit has multivitamin for kids and DHA products which has fast become “The Kids' Favourite Vitamin & DHA Gummy”. The multivitamin for kids contains 10 vitamins and 3 minerals with 12 vegetables, fruits, and Curcuma for children's growth and development, while the DHA Kids gummy contains DHA, EPA, ALA for brain development and eye health.

In Malaysia, Youvit is already available in more than 1,500 retailers, such as Guardian, Watson, MyNews, AEON Wellness, AEON Supermarket, Jaya Grocer, and online at its official store in Shopee. Youvit beauty products can be found exclusively in Watsons and Youvit Kids DHA products are exclusively sold in Guardian. Head to www.youvit.com.my for further details about the products.

YOU aims to lead in health and lifestyle functional food in Emerging Asia, focusing on millennials. We build consumer health ventures for densely populated economies, offering affordable premium products with sustainability and consumer focus. Through retail, direct sales, and subscription offerings, we ensure consistent intake and repeat purchases. YOU’s first product, multivitamin gummy, quickly became the best-selling vitamin product selling over 1,400,000 sachets in the first 18 months across 15,000 retail locations.

BayCare Health System and healthPrecision today announced a strategic partnership to bring advanced documentation tools to the hospital bedside to improve accuracy, efficiency, nurse satisfaction and patient outcomes.

The co-development of healthPrecision's Medical Brain artificial intelligence (AI) platform at BayCare will be the first time the technology has been applied to help reduce hospital nurses' documentation burden, allowing them to focus on what matters most — caring for patients. Documentation, while essential to high-quality patient care, can consume a significant part of nurses' daily duties and can add to their stress on the job.

"We are excited to be at the forefront with healthPrecision to improve the safety and quality of patient care and improve the environment in which nurses practice," said BayCare CEO Stephanie Conners, MBA, BSN, RN. "Voice technology is the future and its potential to improve patient care, including in hospitals, is extraordinary. BayCare's commitment to continue to be the best place to receive care, provide care and to work makes pioneering this innovation with healthPrecision a natural fit." 

HealthPrecision's Medical Brain is a proven AI platform that, in real time, marries the power of an advanced natural language communication platform with the vast array of clinical standards, protocols and knowledge. Medical Brain can then support users to reach the highest quality of clinical decision-making and ensure better accuracy in patient medical records. By facilitating better patient outcomes, Medical Brain technology supports the industry's move to value-based care.

The Medical Brain is already being deployed in chronic care and acute care settings to help them provide high-precision care to their patients. One example recently highlighted in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported on the use of the Medical Brain over three years in a busy urban hospital. The AI-based clinical decision support technology was shown to dramatically reduce adverse events for high-risk obstetrics patients by 90.7%, improving care quality and addressing inequities in maternal health outcomes among disparate populations. The Medical Brain is also being used to help providers and their patients in the daily management of complex, chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and renal disease. With real-time care, patients can be engaged 24/7 and guided to take better care of themselves, in partnership with their providers.

"We are proud to partner with BayCare to bring the Medical Brain technology to nurses," said Sonia Ben Yehuda, co-founder and president of healthPrecision. "By empowering nurses with AI-powered documentation and decision support, we aim to optimize workflow efficiency, patient care and nursing satisfaction. We look forward to working with BayCare to drive innovation together."

In co-developing Medical Brain's application for nursing at BayCare, the goal is to allow nurses to use a mobile device to dictate information to the Medical Brain application, rather than needing to find time to type patient updates into a computer. The Medical Brain will translate the verbal information into written documentation in the patients' electronic medical records and, using its library of evidence-based best practices, will also prompt nurses if they overlook an opportunity for additional assessments or treatments. The Medical Brain app also will remind nurses when a patient follow-up is recommended or required and will allow them to quickly document when they have done so.

"By using the Medical Brain, nurses will be able to update records immediately, facilitating collaboration with colleagues, while relieving time burdens and stress," Ben Yehuda said.

All Medical Brain software and technology meets all patient privacy standards as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West Central Florida's largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare's diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of Florida's largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. BayCare is ranked in the top 20% of large U.S. health systems by Fortune/Merative. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit BayCare.org.

HealthPrecision was founded by Dr. Eyal Ephrat, a renowned leader in the field of clinical decision support, and Sonia Ben Yehuda, a seasoned health care executive with extensive experience in bringing innovative technologies to market. HealthPrecision is a health care technology company specializing in advanced AI-powered clinical decision support solutions. Our flagship product, the Medical Brain AI Platform, empowers providers and patients with real-time, high-precision care, 24/7, to improve outcomes at lower costs and streamline provider workflow for greater efficiency and satisfaction. We are dedicated to helping health systems, provider groups and ACOs succeed in the new era of value-based care by reducing care gaps, errors and delays for higher quality care. The Medical Brain technology is also being leveraged to improve nursing documentation and care accuracy, resulting in better outcomes for patients and greater satisfaction for nurses. With our patient-centric approach and a team of clinicians and experts in AI, machine learning and data science, healthPrecision is at the forefront of the AI revolution in health care.

Meetup, the platform that connects people at events for shared interests, can improve mental health according to new insight from therapists, those that use Meetup, and studies. Unlike most social platforms, Meetup has been recognized to beneficially impact mental health. Embracing this news, the company has announced today, on the first day of Mental Health Awareness month, that it has launched a mental health initiative including original content with expert advice and a resource page found at https://www.meetup.com/lp/mental-health-community.

Meetup has heard from members and mental health professionals on how the platform has improved well being. A study found that 80% of people who go to Meetup events feel more connected to others, 72% report an increase in friendships, and those using Meetup to organize events say it has made their lives better (74%) and increased impact on their self-confidence (78%). (Source: ImpactED, University of PA).

"I've long recommended Meetup to clients," said Matt Shaffer, LCSW. "It's not only the immediate upside of gaining that positive social result, but more importantly, attending Meetup events helps people think and feel differently about the challenge of forming connections. Rather than it seeming like an insurmountable obstacle, they find that all is not lost and there are pathways through this challenge. My clients have been able to break their inertia and form social connections."

Community has the power to change lives. In an 80-year study, researchers at Harvard found that community has a profound impact on mental and physical health (source). Having close personal relationships delays aging and prolongs happiness.

Meetup's newly launched mental health initiative includes experts, therapists, and psychologists providing actionable advice on everything from finding happiness, to creating adult friendships, and how to live a meaningful life. Additionally, Meetup's podcast, blog and Meetup Live programming will honor mental health throughout May featuring daily, weekly, monthly mental health practices, lessons from Harvard's happiness study, and more. As a longtime leader in building connections and community, Meetup has captured the attention and interest from Rosie Acosta, author of You Are Radically Loved and a mindfulness teacher, and Jay Glazer, author of Unbreakable: How I Turned My Depression and Anxiety into Motivation and You Can Too and National Football League (NFL) Insider for FOX NFL Sunday. Each will be guests on Meetup Live May 2nd and May 23rd at 3:00 P.M. respectively.

"We know that attending or organizing Meetup events regularly makes people feel good and that's why we do what we do," said David Siegel, CEO of Meetup and host of the Keep Connected podcast. "We are pleased to know that healthcare professionals are recommending Meetup as a solution to supplement therapeutic treatment, and that reaffirms our commitment to ending the loneliness epidemic while also connecting a lot of cool and fascinating people along the way."

One Meetup organizer who has seen tremendous improvement is David Good. He explained, "As someone with Aspergers and treatment-resistant depression that has had career setbacks because of illness and injury, Meetup helped me figure out the world of people and gave me new purpose and meaning in life. Serving others by running groups in cities worldwide has been the greatest treatment I've found for my depression."

Mr. Good organized his first Meetup group called, West Michigan Geeks in the summer of 2014, and it has grown in popularity to have 4,712 members. With that success, he launched a Meetup Pro network called International Friend Connection with the mission of connecting people for friendship and understanding. This Meetup network hosts multiple in-person and online Meetup events each week, and has 41 Meetup groups across the U.S. and 20 countries with 28,231 members, collectively.

Meetup is the social media platform for finding and building communities of people who meet about common interests. Established in 2002, the company remains true to its mission of helping people grow and achieve their personal or professional goals through authentic, human connections. Meetup has more than 60 million registered members across 330,000 groups active in 193 countries and 10,000 cities around the world.