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Written by Erica Cirino — Updated Jan. 23, 2026

Understanding our eyes and how they grow can provide us with insights into our eye health and the broader aging process. Keep reading to learn the science behind eye growth, debunk some myths, and understand the factors that contribute to changes in eye size over time.

Key takeaways

• Babies are born with smaller eyes, about 16.5 millimeters long, and eyesight develops over the first 2 years as focus and coordination improve.
• Eyeballs grow rapidly after birth and again during puberty, then stop growing in length around age 20 or 21 at about 24 millimeters.
• After age 40, eyes often lose focusing ability (presbyopia) and can get drier. Yearly eye exams support eye health and aging changes.

Do eyes grow?

When we’re born, our eyes are about two-thirds smaller than they will be when we reach adulthood. Our eyes grow throughout our lifetime, especially during the first 2 years of our life and during puberty. For the rest of our lives, our eyes continue to undergo different changes.

Do eyeballs grow?

Babies are born with eyes about 16.5 millimeters in length. People’s eyes stop growing in length by the age of 20 or 21 when they reach about 24 millimeters.

The weight of the eyes’ lenses continues to increase over time. Scientists say that eyes grow rapidly after birth. Within a few months, the growth becomes linear and the lenses grow at a weight of 1.38 milligrams per year over the course of a lifetime.

When do your eyes stop growing?

Eyes stop growing in length when a person reaches around age 20 or 21. The weight of the eyes continues to increase throughout a person’s lifetime.

How our eyes develop

Turns out, our eyes aren’t only smaller when we’re born, they’re also less useful. We develop our ability to move, focus, and use our eyes over time.

When a human embryo begins to form, it doesn’t have eyes. The major development of the eyes occurs between weeks 3 and 10. By a fetus’ third week, the brain starts developing the eyes’ inner workings of being able to see and process images.

It’s common for babies’ eyes to develop unevenly and is rarely a cause for concern. Vision is the last sense a fetus develops, and its eyelids remain closed until 28 weeks. After 28 weeks, a fetus can sense sunlight.

After birth, a baby experiences the world through their eyes mostly as a blur of visual stimuli. Some babies’ eye color starts to change in their first months of life, as many are born with gray or blue eyes that change color.

Babies are nearsighted and focus primarily on objects between 8 and 10 inches from their faces. That’s about the distance of a baby’s face to a person who may be holding them.

During the first few months of life, a baby’s eyes begin to work together as hand-eye coordination develops. By 8 weeks, babies can more easily focus on faces around them. By 3 months, babies should begin following moving objects and people with their eyes.

By 5 months, a baby has developed color vision and some depth perception. Between 1 and 2 years of age, a child’s hand-eye coordination and depth perception are more developed. Colors and images appear bright and vivid.

Most people have a blind spot in their eyes and that’s completely normal. The eyes continue to grow, going through an extra growth spurt during puberty. Your eyes will reach their adult size by the time you reach age 19. By then, most people display signs of any eye abnormalities or genetic diseases of the eyes.

Some common conditions include:

• nearsightedness
• farsightedness
• color blindness

Other ways our eyes change

Our eyes continue to change as we age, especially after age 40. Around this time, our eyes start to lose their ability to focus. This is referred to as presbyopia, and some people experience a greater loss of focus than others.

As we age, our eyes also tend to dry out and tear up excessively. Most age-related eye conditions can be corrected by wearing glasses or contact lenses.

The risk of developing eye and vision problems continues to increase over time. This is especially true if you have chronic health issues or medical conditions, a family history of eye disease, or an occupation that’s visually demanding or can damage your eyes.

You may be experiencing vision issues if:

• your vision changes or is inconsistent
• you experience an increased number of floaters or flashes in the eyes
• you have a loss of vision or notice your sight forms distorted images

After age 60, many experience deteriorating eye health and vision issues, such as:

• macular degeneration
• retinal detachment
• cataracts
• glaucoma

Throughout life, it’s important to take good care of your eyes. You can do this by maintaining a nutritious diet and exercising regularly – maintaining your overall health may even improve your eyesight.

Takeaway

While babies’ eyes are developed at birth, it takes up to 2 years for eyesight to fully develop. Your eyes grow rapidly after birth and again during puberty until age 20 or 21 when they stop growing in size.

Your eyes continue to increase in weight throughout your lifetime and undergo other age-related changes. Staying healthy and getting yearly eye exams can help minimize any age-related conditions affecting your eyesight.

The demand from hospitals has outpaced the supply of blood, the Red Cross said.

By Mary Kekatos – January 20, 2026

Dr. Jen Ashton talks about the critical blood shortage and how one blood donation can help save more than one life, with recommendations for pre-donation prep. The American Red Cross declared a severe emergency blood shortage on Monday and called on people to donate.

The humanitarian organization, which says it’s the largest supplier of blood products for hospitals and for patient need in the U.S., said the demand from hospitals has outpaced the available supply of blood.

Dr. Courtney Lawrence, divisional chief medical officer at American Red Cross, told ABC News that almost one-third of the organization’s blood stores across the country have been depleted due to hospital need. Lawrence said inclement winter weather, which has forced more than 400 Red Cross blood drives around the U.S. to be canceled, is among the reasons that donations are down. Additionally, the U.S. is experiencing a moderately severe flu season, with some states reporting record levels of weekly cases and hospitalizations.

“That can overwhelm our health care system, and it can also mean that donors may not be feeling well enough to come in to donate or may be busy taking care of their loved ones who are sick,” Lawrence said.

When blood supplies are low, it can affect the ability to treat patients in need including trauma patients, chemotherapy patients with underlying blood disorders, those living with sickle cell disease and others, Lawrence said. She called on Americans to donate if they’re able to.

Reihaneh Hajibeigi, 34, from Austin, Texas, was one of those patients in need, telling ABC News that blood transfusions saved her life. Hajibeigi said she lost a lot of blood while giving birth to her first child in 2023, and that the hospital gave her two units of blood and sent her home with her husband and newborn daughter.

“After about a couple weeks, things started to not be so great,” she told ABC News. “What I assumed was just being new mom tired really turned into fatigue. I was losing a lot of blood. I was starting to just not feel so great.”  She went back to the doctor two and a half weeks after giving birth, she said medical staff discovered she had retained a roughly four-centimeter piece of placenta on her uterine wall that was becoming toxic.

Hajibeigi said she underwent a procedure the next morning and began hemorrhaging during the operation, losing about 40% of her total blood volume.

In the recovery room, Hajibeigi said she started to crash again from the loss of blood and doctors raced to give her a blood transfusion. “Fortunately, they had the blood on hand. They were able to get it into my system and basically brought me back to life,” she said. Hajibeigi said she hopes that by sharing her story, she can encourage people to donate if they’re able, especially knowing there’s a chance their donation can help someone in need.

“It just made it that much clearer how vital blood donations are and how much sometimes we take it for granted, just assuming that the blood supply was always going to be intact,” she said. “And in that case, I needed blood. Wonderful.” “It’s a scary thought to think what if the blood product that I needed wasn’t there?” Hajibeigi said. “Then what would have happened?”

Eat well for a long and healthy life – that’s a mantra that we’re all familiar with, but what are the best foods to help us achieve that goal? In this article, we give you an overview of some of the most healthy and nutritious foods.

What are the best foods for a healthful diet? 

Official figures indicate that, currently, the top three countries in the world with the highest life expectancy are the Principality of Monaco, Japan, and Singapore. These are places where the inhabitants experience a high quality of life, and an important element of that is eating healthy meals.

Often, we find praise for “superfoods” in the media – foods so high in nutritional value that they are seen as dietary superheroes.

Nutritionists reject the term “superfoods” as a buzzword that can influence people to place too high an expectation on a limited range of foods when a balanced diet and healthful lifestyle require more effort than eating your five-a-day.

Still, there are certain foods that are more nutritious than others, and many that, as research has shown, have a protective effect on a range of diseases. Here, we give you an overview of some of the best foods that you may want to consider, including in your diet in your quest for a happy, healthy life.

Edamame (soybeans)

Edamame, or fresh soybeans, have been a staple of Asian cuisine for generations, but they have also been gaining popularity on the Western front of late. Soybeans are often sold in snack packs, but they are also added to a varied range of dishes, from soups to rice-based meals, though they are served as cooked and seasoned on their own, too. Edamame and tofu are rich in isoflavones, which may have anti-cancer properties.

The beans are rich in isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen – that is. plant-derived, estrogen-like substances. Isoflavones are known to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and antimicrobial properties.

Thus, they can help to regulate the inflammatory response of the body, slow down cellular aging, fight microbes, as well as, reportedly, protect against certain types of cancer. Edamame is rich in two types of isoflavones, in particular: genistein and daidzein. A study covered last year on Medical News Today found that genistein could be used to improve breast cancer treatment.

In the meantime, the study authors note that “lifetime intake of soy has been linked to reduced risk of breast cancer,” so we may want to include soybeans in our normal diet.

Tofu (soybean curd)

Similarly, tofu, a white cheese-like product made of soybean curds, has been linked to a wealth of health benefits for the same reasons. Tofu is often found cooked in typical Eastern Asian dishes; it can be fried, baked, or boiled (for instance, in soups).

As a soy product, it is rich in isoflavones, whose health benefits we’ve outlined above; it is also a good source of protein, and it contains all the essential amino acids that our bodies need to synthesize protein.

Moreover, it is also rich in minerals, which our bodies need to keep our teeth and bones strong and healthy, and to derive energy. Tofu is a source of calcium, iron, manganese, selenium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, and copper. Some specialists also suggest that eating tofu can make you feel fuller for longer, so incorporating it into your meals may help to prevent overeating.

Carrots

This common culinary ingredient, best known in its orange variety, is famously recommended for its high content of beta-carotene, a pigment – and carotenoid – that gives the widespread version of this root vegetable its color. Carrots can protect against age-related eyesight damage.

Beta-carotene can be converted by our bodies into vitamin A, which, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “is involved in immune function, vision, reproduction, and cellular communication.” Our bodies cannot produce vitamin A on their own, so it must be derived from our diet. This pigment is also an antioxidant that can protect the cells in our bodies from the aging damage caused by free radicals.

Moreover, research has shown that foods rich in carotenoids – and, of course, carrots are a prime example here – can protect against age-related macular degeneration, the vision damage caused by old age. Some varieties of carrots, such as white carrots, do not contain the orange pigment beta-carotene, but they do all contain falcarinol, a nutrient which, some studies claim, may have a protective effect against cancer.

While raw carrots may be best for health, as they retain their nutrients, there are also ways of cooking carrots that can keep most of their nutrients “locked in.”

In an interview, one researcher who investigated the anti-cancer effect of falcarinol from carrots, Kirsten Brandt – from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom – suggests that we may want to boil our carrots whole if we want them cooked, but still bursting with nutrients. “Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area so more of the nutrients leach out into the water while they are cooked. By keeping them whole and chopping them up afterwards you are locking in nutrients and the taste, so the carrot is better for you all round.”

Cruciferous vegetables

Another important type of food on our list are cruciferous vegetables – also known as “Brassica vegetables” – which include a wide array of green foods, such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy, radish, and kale.

Cruciferous vegetables can bring a wealth of health benefits. These vegetables boast an especially rich nutrient content, including many vitamins (C, E, K, and folate), minerals (potassium, calcium, and selenium), and carotenoids (lutein, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin).

Cruciferous vegetables also contain glucosinolates, the substances that give these greens their characteristic pungent flavor. These substances have been found to bring diverse health benefits. Some glucosinolates seem to regulate the body’s stress and inflammation response; they have antimicrobial properties, and some of them are being investigated for their anti-cancer potential.

One recent study covered on MNT found that leafy greens, including some cruciferous vegetables such as kale and collard greens, helped to slow down cognitive decline. Consequently, the study researchers suggest that “adding a daily serving of green, leafy vegetables to your diet may be a simple way to foster your brain health.”

Kale, broccoli, and cabbage have also been shown to have a protective effect on heart health, thanks to their vitamin K content.

Finally, cruciferous vegetables are also a great source of soluble fiber, which plays a role in regulating blood sugar levels and diminishing the absorption of fat, thus helping to prevent excess weight gain.

Salmon

Recent studies have suggested that consumption of meat – mostly red meat, but also some kinds of poultry meat – could be harmful to our health in the long run. A good alternative for protein in this case is fish, and salmon affords many nutritional benefits.

Salmon could protect cognitive health, researchers say. Salmon is packed with protein and also contains plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, which is said to be beneficial for eyesight. Research has demonstrated that omega-3 protects against dry-eye syndrome, characterized by insufficient lubrication of the eyes, which can lead to soreness and blurred vision. Moreover, omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with brain health, and research suggests that they can stave off cognitive decline associated with aging.

Salmon also has a high potassium content and, according to a new study reported on MNT last autumn, potassium can prevent the onset of heart disease. Additionally, this type of fish is rich in the mineral selenium, which contributes to the health of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland helps to regulate hormonal activity and is involved in metabolic processes.

Although both farmed and wild salmon are available on the market, wild salmon has been found to be more nutritious overall, with a higher protein content, and also to have less saturated fat, which means that it is more healthful, and better for weight management. However, farmed salmon is a more sustainable resource, and specialists say that the differences between farmed and wild caught salmon may not be so stark as to motivate us to prefer one type over the other.

Citrus fruits

Finally, citrus fruits are the unsung heroes of a healthful diet; these include several fruits that are now available worldwide, such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, clementines, mandarins, and tangerines. The flavonoids in citrus fruits have been cited in connection with longer lifespans.

For a long time, citrus fruits have been recommended by nutritionists and grandmothers alike for their high content of vitamin C, which has antioxidant properties, and is said to bring a wide array of health benefits, including reducing inflammatory damage, and to fend off infections.

Specialists point out, however, that this type of fruit goes well beyond just vitamin C when it comes to nutrient content. “The fruits are abundant in other macronutrients, including sugars, dietary fiber, potassium, folate, calcium, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.”

If this list of dietary goodies hasn’t colored you impressed, the specialists then go on to explain how citrus fruits contain even more organic compounds – such as flavonoids, coumarins, and carotenoids – that have been said to have protective effects against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Research has shown that flavonoids – in which citrus fruits are particularly rich – can “prevent or delay chronic diseases caused by obesity.”

Flavonoids have also garnered a lot of scientific attention for their anti-cancer potential, and consumption of especially flavonoid-rich citrus fruits has been associated with a significantly prolonged lifespan.

The inhabitants of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, known to be some of the longest-living populations of the world, regularly eat shikuwasa, also known as “shequasar,” a citrus fruit typical of the region, which contains more flavonoids than most other citrus fruits. Drinking shikuwasa juice rich in flavonoid content has also been linked to better liver health.

Although all of the foods mentioned above are appreciated for their significant health benefits, we should not forget that well-being and longevity cannot be achieved without a balanced, inclusive diet and a healthful lifestyle.

Moreover, current studies suggest that our genetic makeup may have an important say as to which foods work best for our health. So, keeping our list of nutritious foods in mind, make sure you follow the healthful diet that is most effective for you!

Weight loss pills and a growing number of ways to buy the drugs could make them easier to access. GLP-1 pills for weight loss may mark the most significant shift in the market yet.

Jan. 1, 2026

Leila Register / NBC News

Changes are coming in 2026 for GLP-1 drugs. Long defined by high prices, shortages and weekly injections, drugs including Wegovy and Zepbound are expected to be easier to access and afford. And new options for people averse to needles are coming. “The GLP-1 landscape is expected to broaden significantly,” said Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist who runs a weight loss clinic in Cary, North Carolina. “For the first time, medical obesity treatment will move away from a one-size-fits-all model.”

GLP-1 pills for weight loss may mark the most significant shift yet. Last month, Novo Nordisk won Food and Drug Administration approval for the first GLP-1 pill for weight loss. The medication, marketed as the Wegovy pill, is expected to be widely available this month.

Another GLP-1 pill, from Eli Lilly, is expected to gain approval later this year. Dr. Shauna Levy, medical director of the Tulane Weight Loss Center, said the pills will be a great option for patients who prefer oral medications or who have struggled to access the injectable versions. “With so much product in the market, I hope the competition will further reduce prices,” Levy said. A month’s supply of the pills is expected to be cheaper than a month’s supply of injections.

Novo Nordisk hasn’t announced the list price for the Wegovy pill yet, but it has said that the two lowest doses will cost $149 a month for people paying in cash and not using insurance. The lowest dose of the Wegovy injection, by comparison, is $349 a month for people paying in cash.

Starting Monday Jan. 5, the two higher doses of the pills will be priced at $299 a month for people paying in cash. For those with insurance that covers the drugs, out-of-pocket costs could be as low as $25 a month, according to the company.

Dr. Daniela Hurtado Andrade, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, said the lower prices will most likely expand access. Still, she noted, the most drastic weight loss in the trials came from the highest dose, which means people will likely have to pay more if they want to lose more weight. Even $149 a month for some is still too expensive, she said. “It’s something that needs to be discussed with patients,” Andrade said, “because they may have expectations that are not real.”

Levy said that one drawback to the pill is that it must be taken on a strict schedule to get the best results: every morning on an empty stomach. In a late-stage clinical trial, people who adhered to the schedule lost 16.6% of their body weight, on average. That fell to 13.6% when people didn’t take the pill exactly as prescribed.

“I think we need to consider that the efficacy of these medications is decreased if they are not taken consistently, and I am curious to see how they perform in real life,” Levy said. There’s a bit more flexibility around Lilly’s pill, which still must be taken daily but can be taken any time of the day.

Chris Mertens, 35, of Menominee Falls, Wisconsin, said he had no trouble remembering to take the Wegovy pill every morning, which he did as part of a clinical trial in late 2022. Though he didn’t know it at the time, he got the real medication, not a placebo.

When he began the trial, he weighed about 260 pounds, with a body mass index of around 32, and hoped to get closer to 200 pounds. After a year and a half on the medication, Mertens said he lost about 40 pounds, eventually plateauing at around 220. The weight loss, he said, gave him more energy at work and at home and changed his relationship with food.

Lilly is getting closer to finishing its clinical trials on what could be the most powerful GLP-1 drug yet, called retatrutide. Like Wegovy and Zepbound, retatrutide is a weekly injection. It targets GLP-1 and GIP, the same two hormones targeted by Lilly’s blockbuster drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. Retatrutide also targets a third hormone, called glucagon, which may further boost weight loss.

Lilly said in December that in a Phase 3 clinical trial, patients taking the highest dose of the experimental injection lost nearly 29% of their body weight on average after about 16 months – more than has been seen with any GLP-1 drug currently on the market. The trial included roughly 450 adults with obesity or who were overweight and had knee osteoarthritis. “These are numbers we simply didn’t think were possible just a few years ago,” McGowan said.

The medication’s high effectiveness, however, may come with a tradeoff of more intense side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting. Lilly reported a dropout rate of 18.2% for patients who got the drug compared with 4% in the placebo group. By comparison, the dropout rate for the highest dose group in a separate trial for Zepbound was just 6.2%. “More is not always better,” McGowan said. “In real-world practice, those discontinuation rates may be even higher.”

Andrade said the medication could be helpful for people with severe obesity, who may still have trouble losing weight on the existing GLP-1 medications, although she’d like to see more data on the side effects.

A Lilly spokesperson said the company is completing seven additional trials on retatrutide, which are expected to be completed in 2026. It could file for FDA approval as early as this year.

Access to the drugs has also expanded through cash-pay programs. Lilly first started offering cash discounts for certain doses of Zepbound in 2024, through its LillyDirect program. Novo Nordisk later followed with NovoCare Pharmacy in March, selling Wegovy at a discounted price for cash payers.

In 2025, some major retailers followed. Costco in October announced it would sell Wegovy and Ozempic for $499 a month for customers paying cash, and Walmart has rolled out a comparable arrangement with Lilly for Zepbound.

In 2026, the Trump administration will launch the self-pay platform TrumpRx.gov. The website will not sell prescription drugs directly but will connect people to drugmakers’ discount websites.

The average monthly cost of weight loss injections on TrumpRx is expected to start around $350 and fall to about $250 within the next two years, President Donald Trump said when announcing the arrangements with the drugmakers. Starting doses of GLP-1 pills are expected to cost $149.

Dr. Susan Spratt, professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, said the partnerships will “only improve access.” The question, she added, is whether the discounts will be enough to improve access to everyone who could benefit from the medications. “They are still quite expensive,” Spratt said.

Levy said the self-pay options would make the drugs easier to get, particularly for people whose insurance doesn’t cover them. Many of the self-pay options connect patients with doctors on telehealth who will determine if they qualify for the drugs and write a prescription.

“I think there is potential for increased access with deals for cheaper products at Walmart and Costco,” Levy said, “but I really want to make sure patients are treated and are followed by obesity medicine specialists or providers who really know what they are doing with anti-obesity medications.”

Geriatricians are, in fact, primary care doctors (PCPs), but have additional specialized training in treating older patients

Geriatrics in primary care is the specialized approach used to care for people as they age.  Geriatric primary care recognizes that older adults often experience multiple chronic conditions, functional limitations, and changing social circumstances.  Through this, there is an emphasis on maintaining health, independence, and quality of life.

To achieve best health, the care plan begins with a comprehensive assessment, in which a healthcare provider evaluates medical conditions, medications, cognitive function, emotional well-being, mobility, nutrition, and social support.  Another essential component is medication management, since older adults often take several prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, increasing the risk of side effects or interactions.  Geriatric care also includes prevention and early detection of common age-related issues such as falls, memory decline, osteoporosis, and sensory impairments.  Additionally, providers coordinate care among specialists, caregivers, and community resources, ensuring that the patient’s needs are addressed in a holistic and organized way.  Advanced care planning – discussing preferences regarding future medical treatments – is also a valuable part of geriatric primary care.

The benefits of incorporating geriatrics into primary care are significant.  First, it leads to better health outcomes, because problems are identified early and managed proactively.  Second, geriatric-focused care improves patient safety, particularly by reducing medication-related complications and preventing avoidable hospitalizations.  Third, it enhances quality of life by supporting independence, promoting mental and emotional well-being, and helping patients stay active and engaged.  For families and caregivers, geriatric primary care offers guidance, reassurance, and support in navigating complex health decisions.

Overall, geriatrics in primary care ensures that older adults receive thoughtful, personalized, and coordinated care that promotes healthy aging and preserves dignity throughout life’s later stages.  If you have multiple medical issues, a geriatric specialist may be the right choice to achieve your best health.