TUESDAY, Nov. 11, 2008 (Health.com) — Obese children have as much plaque in their neck arteries as middle-aged adults, according to a study presented this week at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans.
This precocious buildup of fatty deposits may give kids a looming risk of heart disease and other health problems that are beyond their years too.
“My premonition is that we will see more premature angina and strokes and such,” says study author Geetha Raghuveer, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine.
In the study, Dr. Raghuveer and colleagues used ultrasound to measure the plaque in the carotid arteries of 70 obese children and teens with an average age of 13. (The study participants were 6 to 19 years of age.) The researchers measured the carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) in the neck and found that the average CIMT was 0.45 millimeters, which is typical of adults in their mid-40s.
The researchers were not surprised that the children had narrowing of their arteries. “We have known that the carotid artery’s inner lining is thickened in children with some combination of the traditional risk factors: high cholesterol, obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes, even exposure to tobacco smoking,” says Dr. Raghuveer.
But finding 30 years’ worth of extra fatty buildup exposes the seriousness of the problem, she says. Clogged arteries can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.
“Saying that a child has the arteries of a 45-year-old brings it home, and so I think it’s a really nice way to catch people’s eye,” agrees Sarah De Ferranti, MD, director of the Preventative Cardiology Clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston.
She applauds the idea of counting children’s vascular age, or the state or their arteries, if it helps spur action against the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity. “I think people are worried, but it’s worried-sitting-on-the-couch versus worried-getting-up-and-doing-something.”
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Comments (4)
As a parent, it’s studies like this that keep highlighting the importance of educating our kids about why it’s so important to live a healthy lifestyle and take care of yourselves. Even at 6, kids can start to understand the importance for themselves if you give them the correct tools.
We need to engage them in ways that they both enjoy ad understand. It can’t be “work” to them. One of the best things I’ve found so far is a new Public Television Show/Website called Big Green Rabbit. My daughter really gets it when she watches and now tells me what calories are and why it’s so important that we take care of each other and our planet.
If it’s not on PBS in your area, you can get a bunch of great content online at http://www.BigGreenRabbit.com
I never new all of these things about obeseoty. I was just looking something up for my health homework when I came across this. I’m 13 so I’m in this age group! (not saying that I’m obese because I’m not!)
i love obes boys
i love obesity i love fat boys