Why So Many Children Are on the Road to Heart Disease

	Tweet

We teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right? National statistics show that many of us do not. According to the American Obesity Association, an alarming 15.5 percent of children between the ages of six and 11 are considered obese, putting them on a collision course with the nation’s biggest killer: heart disease.

The power of preventing such a tragedy lies in the hands of parents, according to pediatric health experts.

“Parents are the gatekeepers and the role models for their children’s eating and exercise habits,” says Marjorie Milici, M.D., pediatrician on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. 

“Chronic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease and cancer, which take decades to develop, have their roots in childhood, when exercise and eating behaviors are being learned,” adds Dr. Milici.

Starting at a very young age, children should begin learning about proper nutrition and exercise. The American Heart Association (AHA) says that children age 2 and older should eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, as well as a variety of other foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, in order to promote cardiovascular health.

“It’s up to parents to help their children control the factors that they can, such as diet and exercise,” says Dr. Milici. “Children should get at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Lack of exercise prevents the breakdown of bad cholesterol in our bodies. Combined with a high-fat diet, it can lead to health problems such as elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease and diabetes when children are older.”

A Guide for Parents
Kids are getting too much of the bad stuff and not enough of the good:

TOO MUCH/MANY…
• sedentary time
• busy time
• calories found in lower-nutrient foods
• sugary beverages

NOT ENOUGH…
• physical activity
• rest or downtime (To increase their energy, children usually eat more when they’re tired.)
• fiber, vitamin C, calcium, iron
• low-fat dairy products

Source: Baylor Health Care System

RELATED STORIES:
Scientists turn skin cells into beating heart muscle   Too many people get angioplasties, study suggests   New Blood Thinner May Lower Chances of Clots in High-Risk Heart Patients: FDA   Heart Damage After Chemo Linked to Stress in Cardiac Cells   What’s good or bad for the heart, may be the same for the brain   Warfarin in Heart Failure   Increased Sudden Cardiac Death Rate Among HIV Patients   Air pollution level changes in Beijing linked with biomarkers of cardiovascular disease   Lack of basic evidence hampering prevention of sudden heart attacks in sport   Blacks Less Likely to Get Help on Scene After Cardiac Arrest: Study   Heart attack patients taken to PCI hospitals first treated faster   Cameron Health’s under-skin ICD safe, effective

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]