My Overweight Child: Obesity Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Monday, October 01, 2007

Obesity Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Researchers have found that children as young as eight-years-old who are overweight or obese are seven times more like to be at risk for heart disease when they're teenagers. Risks like high-blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and elevated blood sugar were found in overweight or obese children who were just 15-years-old.

"The current results also suggest that doctors need only measure children's weight and height, and not their waistline, to get a good picture of their future heart risks. Childhood body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height - was more strongly related to future cardiac risk factors than waist circumference was."

The findings, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were based on observations of 172 children who had their BMI and waistline information documented at age eight, and then again at age fifteen. At fifteen, the children were also assessed for heart disease risk factors.

Labels: blood_pressure, heart_disease, pediatricians