One supermarket chain has an offer that might make you feel a whole lot better.

Schnucks recently started giving out certain kinds of generic antibiotics free to those who have a prescription.

There are 100 Schnucks supermarkets in the region, including Jefferson City and Columbia, now offering the service.

"I think it's important to do anything you can, really, to help people struggling financially," Schnucks customer Karen Sinn said. "And prescriptions can be so overwhelming, and so needed."

Although company officials declined to comment on camera, they did say that handing out antibiotics will help draw customers to their stores, increasing grocery sales.

Representatives from Schnucks say they believe local pharmacies will start similar programs in order to compete.

This is the first program of its kind in the region and competitors, such as Kilgore's in Columbia, still offer drugs at their usual prices.

A Kilgore's owner says Schnucks' marketing strategy won't affect business.

"In our particular situation we would market the time factor," Bill Morrissey said. "We fill prescriptions quite quickly."

Morrissey also says drugs offered for free by Schnucks are generally inexpensive to begin with.

The seven classes of antibiotics that are now free at Schnucks include: amoxicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxasin, doxycycline, erythromycin, penicillin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

However, Kilgore's pharmacists aren't completely immune to hearing about the offer.

"We got a lot of phone calls about it, a lot of questions about it," Morrissey said.

Although Schnucks' offer may be a good deal for consumers, pharmacists at Kilgore's say the advantage may be service over price.

The program at Schnucks is set to continue indefinitely, and it hopes to add more medications to list in the future.

Obesity Can Lead To Disability

A new study shows America's growing waistline is leading to more disabilities among older adults.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found those older than 60 are much more likely to suffer from disabilities than older adults a decade ago.

They say obesity could be one of the causes.

According to the study, the odds of suffering a functional impairment increased 43 percent among obese older adults.