Severely obese children at risk of heart disease: Study
A recent study says that severely obese children are in danger of heart disease even when they are primary school student.
The study, issued online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, said two thirds of children under the age of 12 had at least one early symptom such as high blood pressure or soaring cholesterol levels.
Researchers at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam gathered data from the Dutch Pediatric Surveillance Unit between 2005 and 2007, examining 307 severely overweight children aged between two and 18.
"Remarkably, 62% of severely obese children under 12 years of age already had one or more cardiovascular risk factors," the study said.
The researcher also found that more than half had high blood pressure, and some also had low "good cholesterol" and high blood sugar, that could cause Type 2 diabetes.
The study concluded that “this may lead to cardiovascular disease in young adulthood.”
Doireann Maddock, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, stressed that the study’s findings left a “bad taste in the mouth.”
"It's a huge concern so many obese children were identified as already having at least one risk factor for heart disease, including high blood pressure, high blood glucose and problems with cholesterol levels,” she said.
Maddock, however, added that highlighting the importance of healthy food and physical activity from an early age could protect the heart health of children.
Source: presstv.com
