Children being set up for heart disease later on in life

A new study by Canadian researchers says that clogged arteries show up in children, and fatty diets and a lack of exercise are setting children up for heart problems later on in life.

Dr. Sanaz Piran, an internal medicine resident at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and her colleagues reviewed data on 3,630 children, ages 5 to 18, who took part in 26 studies in Australia, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States.

They say the primary prevention of heart disease should start in childhood.

The studies reviewed used noninvasive methods to measure arterial blood flow and the thickness of artery walls in children with and without heart disease risk factors and found that in many cases, children with heart disease risk factors showed early signs of atherosclerosis.

The researchers say the findings highlight the need for parents and doctors to prevent and treat cardiovascular risk factors in children.

They believe diet and exercise are especially important to curb the escalating problem of childhood obesity.

Piran says obesity puts children at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels and children are eating too much fatty and processed foods.

Piran advises that parents need to involve their kids in regular exercise activities and cut down on fatty meals, emphasizing healthy food such as vegetables, not smoke in the presence of children and, if there's a family history of high cholesterol, children need to have their cholesterol levels checked.

She says the very things advocated for adults apply to children and families need to adopt a family-oriented approach to cardiovascular prevention and to addressing the risk factors.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, in Chicago.