And kid's nutrition is important because . . .
Posted by kathryn in Health News and Kid's nutrition
it’s not just adults that can have atherosclerosis, or fatty plaque building up in their arteries. As reported by the American Heart Association :
Children with risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol levels already show signs of fatty build-up in their arteries that could lead to heart attack in adulthood, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2006.
This research shows the importance of addressing and minimising risk factors:
“Diet and exercise are especially important to curb the escalating problem of childhood obesity . . . obesity puts children at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels. Children’s diets have changed dramatically, influenced by television commercials and the convenience of fast foods. Children are eating too much fatty and processed foods. Parents need to involve their kids in regular exercise activities and cut down on fatty meals, emphasizing healthy foods such as vegetables.”
It’s a bit bossy, but they’re right. Of course, the next questions is how to do this and how to change things around.
Technorati tags: kid’s health , atherosclerosis , heart health , childhood obesity , Children’s health .
16 November, 2006
Comments
This article is SO right! I am in medical school and we just finished studying pathology of heart disease. Intimal thickening, which is what leads to plaques and clogged arteries, begins in childhood. There was an artery from a 3 year-old’s autopsy that had fatty streaks already in the mucosa (the slimy part lining the inside of the arteries). SO, all that said to say that prevention of atherosclerosis must start when kids are LITTLE BITTY!!! How? Healthy diet (but don’t abandon ALL treats!) and exercise. Don’t plop the kids down in front of the television…get them up and moving, along with everyone else in the family! It’s good for the body, soul, and relationships! Sorry for all the medical speak!
Thanks for your comment Claire, all this talk of intimal thickening is taking me way back to pathophysiology at college! Healthy diet and exercise are so important at all stages of life and you’re right about getting the kids and family out and moving about. With littlies exercise is all about getting out in the open and running around, playing and doing kids’s stuff.
Great Post Kathryn!
How did we get to the point in this crazy culture of ours where food has become something we use to manipulate, bribe, coerce, reward and medicate.
In the good old days…we ate because it sustained and nourished us.
Outdated and wacky notions I know, but effective nonetheless.
We gave kids food at designated meal times.
If my recent trip to the local shopping centre is any indication, we’re in trouble.
Apparently junk food is now being used to ‘train’ children to behave a certain way… just like we do with bears in the circus and the dolphins at Seaworld.
Sad.
I saw five different parents (or maybe carers) shove junk food into the mouths of crying or misbehaving children, to pacify them.
I actually watched a mother feed her baby (maybe ten months old) fries while she tucked into her bucket of fried chicken.
Two stupid, irresponsible decisions.
The poor little kid ate as many fries as he could, and then began to put the remainder in his mouth and systematically suck the fat and salt off them, one by one.
As an ex-fat kid, it broke my heart to see this child being handicapped before he even gets a chance to rationalise or decide for himself.
And by the time he can decide, he’ll be obese and programmed to consume vast quantities of crap, because that’s all he knows.
Keep up the great writing Kathryn!
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