Children and Obesity Children Presenting with Clogged Arteries

A data review by Canadian researchersshowed that children whohave risk factors for heart disease—fattydiets, lack of exercise—are showingearly signs of atherosclerosis. Studiesthat included 3630 children aged 5 to 18years from Australia, Finland, Italy, theNetherlands, Norway, and the UnitedStates used noninvasive methods tomeasure arterial blood flow and thicknessof artery walls. Among the childrenwho exhibited early signs of heart disease,there were also indications of cloggingarteries. Researcher Sanaz Piran,MD, an internal medicine resident atMcMaster University in Ontario, said,"Children are eating too [many] fatty andprocessed foods. Parents need to involvetheir children in regular exercise activitiesand cut down on fatty meals. Thereneeds to be a family-oriented approachto cardiovascular prevention." Results ofthe study were presented at the annualmeeting of the American Heart Associationin Chicago in November 2006.

Ms. Farley is a freelance medicalwriter based in Wakefield, RI.