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TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
In a finding that suggests the seeds for heart disease<\/a> are sown early in life, researchers report they found evidence of stiff, thickened arteries in children who had been obese<\/a> as toddlers.<\/p>\n “Public health efforts are needed in the very early years to prevent problems with obesity<\/a> and being overweight<\/a>, to avoid the risk of adolescent and adult cardiovascular disease<\/a>,” said study author Melissa Wake, from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia.<\/p>\n Wake’s team followed more than 1,800 children in Australia whose weight and height were checked every two years to determine their heart disease<\/a> risk scores. At age 11 to 12, their blood pressure<\/a>, blood vessel health, cholesterol<\/a> and blood glucose (sugar<\/a>) levels were also assessed.<\/p>\n Those who were obese<\/a> or overweight<\/a> as toddlers had evidence of stiffer arteries, thickened arterial lining and were at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome<\/a> later in life. Metabolic syndrome<\/a> is a group of heart disease<\/a> risk factors that occur together. The signs of heart<\/a> disease were worse the longer children were overweight or obese.<\/p>\n Published recently in the journal Pediatrics<\/a><\/i>, the report highlights the silent effects of obesity<\/a> in childhood, Wake said in an institute news release.<\/p>\n “Our findings are in line with the World Health Organization’s calls for urgent collaborative action to address the matter through systems-based approaches and policy implementation,” she added.<\/p>\n “Such policies include increasing taxes on processed foods high in fat and sugar<\/a>, safer and improved public transport and walking<\/a> to school pathways, and making community-based sporting activities more affordable and accessible,” Wake explained.<\/p>\n Until now, little has been known about how body mass index (BMI<\/a> — an estimate of body fat based on weight and height) early in life affects heart<\/a> health later in childhood, according to Kate Lycett, from the institute.<\/p>\n
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