Obesity in China - Why are Chinese investors investing in obesity technologies?

More Chinese people aged 20 to 39 are becoming overweight and their athletic ability is declining, according to a national survey released on Monday.

Chinese and Hong Kong investors are investing in Obesity technologies in the US. They clearly see the need for new medical technologies in China.
Recently, a US based company called Onciomed, Inc (www.onciomed.com) got China Patents for its obesity technology.
As urban China gets more aware of obesity, the government is focused on helping reduce childhood obesity and obesity in young adults. The younger population is eating out and experimenting more international cusine
also a contributing factor is the change in lifestyle.
The survey of more than 43,000 adults found that more than 11 percent of people aged 20 to 39 are obese, an increase of 2 percentage points since the last survey in 2010.
The average weight gain of the group was 1.92 kilograms, higher than figures of the other two age groups (40-59 and 60 plus).
The General Administration of Sport survey of 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities also found that 34.4 percent of Chinese between 20 and 69 are overweight.
Tian Ye, director of the China Institute of Sports Science, said the issue of weight and physical decline can be attributed partially to the lack of sports activities among young people.
"We are still analyzing the reasons, but it couldn't be more obvious that the lack of exercise played a negative role," Tian said.
According to the survey, those between 20 and 39 are the least active exercisers. Fifty-one percent of them don't exercise regularly, citing no time due to overloaded schedules.
The results also indicated that waist circumferences and hiplines have increased in all age groups, especially among young males and middle-aged females in urban areas.
Meanwhile, a decline has been seen among young adults in their ability to grip something, jump or maintain balance, indicating losses of strength and flexibility.
"Statistically, the fitness level of this group dropped in line with the decline of their sports involvement. It proved the importance of sports exercise for keeping fit and healthy," Tian said.
Giving up exercise for studies and work has been a nationwide trend among young people, and the government should do a better job of raising public awareness of mass fitness programs, experts said.
"The excuse of 'no time' means the public hasn't realized the importance of sports activities for a better life," said Xing Wenhua, a Beijing Sport University professor and mass fitness promoter.
"More education and promotion should be done to underscore that doing exercise is not only a way to keep fit but also releases pressure and negative emotions, which I believe is more important for young people."
Zhou Qinlu, a mass fitness researcher at Beijing Institute of Sports Science, suggested office workers take breaks during work for in-office exercise and choose healthier commuting tools like bicycles.
Apart from obesity issues, other results of the survey indicate that the general physical condition of Chinese people has maintained the level of 2010 without wide-ranging declines.
"Maintaining the same level means our national mass fitness program has done a decent job, because it's hard to stay there due to people's unhealthy lifestyle and growing pressure in the current society," said Jiang Chongmin, an executive with the National Fitness Monitoring and Researching Center.
"We didn't find major drops in this survey, which proved that our mass fitness efforts worked well."
Inspired by the success of 2008 Beijing Olympics, the General Administration of Sport set Aug 8, the opening date of the Games, as the annual National Fitness Day and has been promoting grassroots fitness programs since then.
According to the survey, the number of people aged 20 to 69 who do intense exercise three times a week has risen to 32.7 percent, 4.5 percentage points up compared with 2007.
That accompanied an increasing demand for more accessible public sports facilities.
More than 38 percent of those surveyed have been exercising at public sports venues including community and municipal sports facilities, an increase from 2007. Still, 9.6 percent of regular exercisers claimed the development of public sports facilities failed to meet people's demand.
Liu Guoyong, chief of the General Administration of Sport's mass sports department, said the authority will work on policies to urge more schools and State-run training bases to open facilities to the public.

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The future of spine and back surgery

The future of spine and back surgery

29 Aug 2012, Dr Raj Nihalani, BioSpectrum

Many of the new techniques and equipments developed over the past few years for spine surgery have leaned toward the less invasive approach, which is gaining in popularity across the US. However, 80-to-90 percent of surgeons are still performing open surgeries, which they have perfected over the years.
Healthcare reform in the US could slow technological advances in the coming years due to uncertain reimbursements and increased fees on medical device makers. As we approach 2013, industry leaders weigh in on the future of spine surgery and the cost associated with it.
US Healthcare reform's impact on spine surgery
In the current atmosphere of anxiety regarding the "unknowns" of healthcare reform, many spine surgeons are opting to proceed with their practice cautiously. An increase in patient volume due to growth in the aging population coupled with diminishing reimbursement rates means spine surgeons will be looking for less costly surgery systems that are easy-to-use, according to Dr Chris Zorn, vice president, Spine Surgical Innovation.
Physicians who are working in hospital settings must justify their spending, which could lead to a decrease in purchasing of new and complex technologies that facilities are currently willing to purchase. While technology may continue to advance, physicians may not have the resources to learn new procedures or gain access to the equipment.
In Asia and Europe "Generally speaking, spine, like many other surgical areas, has certain things that become trendy, but my observations are that physicians worldwide are sticking to the basics," says Mr Zorn. "We live in a world of trying to keep it simple, keep the learning steps simple, minimize the impact of surgery on the budget as well as the impact of the procedure on the staff, surgeon and patient's time."

Currently, new minimally invasive surgery are three-to-five times more expensive than conventional surgery opening room to next generation of open repair technologies that are low cost.
One such company which is focusing on next generation open repair technologies is Spinofix and Spinofix International. Spinofix, with its head office in Irivne, California, and an international office in Taiwan and a proposed office in Singapore, has developed low cost treatment options that provide potentially better results that conventional treatments and cost as much or less than conventional treatment, which is a win-win situation.
Minimally invasive spine surgery vs open surgery
One of the biggest reasons to get spine surgery is intractable back pain. Patients resort to spine surgery because they can't take it anymore. Their goal is to get rid of the pain once for all.
Surgeons practicing less invasive or minimally invasive spine surgery are still learning the techniques, patients would rather prefer to do a conventional treatment because they are aware of the outcomes, which is similar to less invasive surgery. The only difference is quicker healing time (couple of weeks). Patient's and payers (insurance companies) prefer less costly and more predictable outcome that are less invasive with a chance to undergo a second revision surgery, if things did not go right the first time.
Investment in Spine Technology
Many investors looking to invest in spine technology may think minimally invasive technology is the way to go. Actually, it's the paradox. Next generation technologies, which are less costly and improvements in the open repair, are more popular and will stay for the next two decades. New technologies in spine fusion will replace the conventional treatments slowly, thus bridging the gap between the conventional treatment and minimally invasive surgery. Spinofix's cross connector system is one of the technology that the companies are using to bridge the gap.
Is the Asian spine market different?
In Asia, physicians affiliated with academic research centers are small in number (less than five percent). Most surgeons are likely to learn minimally invasive techniques in the future because they have more emphasis on procedural development.
In the coming healthcare climate, which is wrought with uncertain reimbursement rates and the potential for an increase in patient volume in countries like China and India, physicians are busy serving in the operating room all day and managing a robust practice. They will need to search for systems with simple ease-of-use, short learning curve and high value. The physicians will need to invest in low-cost systems like Spinofix that demonstrate beneficial patient outcomes.
Active patient recovery
As minimally invasive surgery and pain medicine make advancements, patients are able to play an active role in their recovery process. Patients are looking to explore their options. Many choose conventional spine surgery that are minimally invasive because they know the outcomes are predictable.
"Minimally invasive sounds great, I had a minimally invasive heart procedure last year, but that does not mean minimally invasive spine surgery its going to work for me. I would like the surgeon to look and fix my back right," said a 65-year-old women suffering from back pain in Singapore.
She decided to go the conventional route even though her cost was covered by the hospital system. Four weeks later she said, "I am glad I chose conventional treatment and I feel better. I read a lot about spine surgery on the internet and decided that I stick to the predictability of the procedure than the newness and hype of the less invasive surgery."

New Anti Ageing Solutions

New Anti- Ageing Solutions!

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New Molecule in the Anti-Aging Treatment

When it comes to skin care products. Everyone brags about the way the skin feels to touch after applying it.
I am a big critic of the commercially available products, until I came across this unique formula called as the
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Health Care Cost Sky Rocket- If Innovation is not funded

Innovation in the USA needs to stay in the US. If the med tech innovators move their innovations to outside the country. US tax payers will not be able to afford health care in the US.
China, India , Russia and Brazil will be charging for new medical technologies. Currently, investors and VCs are shy to invest in med tech industry, soon that will change and there will be heavy investments in the diabetes and obesity tech start ups. Since obesity is costing US over $150 Billion a year.