Don't Let Your Kids Get Fat!! Obese Kids Arteries Look Like Adults Arteries with Heart Disease!

The hazards of being an obese child go beyond schoolyard teasing or being picked last in gym. The arteries of obese children exhibit a stiffness normally found in adults with heart disease, according to a new study from BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver.



Here is a previous blog on supplements that can help.  Two Supplements to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity


Canadian researchers looked at 63 obese children and 55 children of normal weight, both groups with an average age of 13. The obese children had abnormal results on an ultrasound test of the heart and blood vessels, which measures how quickly blood flows through the body. Of particular concern was the aorta, the body's largest artery, which carries blood to the rest of the body's arteries.
"The normal aorta has elastic qualities that buffer the flow of blood. When that elasticity is lost, aortic stiffness results -- a sign of developing cardiovascular disease," said study author Dr. Kevin Harris, from BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, in a news release. "Aortic stiffness is associated with cardiovascular events and early death."

Harris says that it's as if the obese children are experiencing the aging process at an accelerated pace, and it's unclear whether weight loss through diet and exercise could reverse the hardening of the arteries.
Dr. Carolyn Landis, who heads the Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight program at Cleveland's Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, says that parents need to take action and not wait to see if being overweight is something their child will "grow out of."

"There are many studies coming out about how obese children are physically different, and it starts as young as preschool," she told AOL Health. "With preschoolers, it's not about putting them on a diet, but you can slow the rate of weight gain over time. Institute healthy changes like more fruits and vegetables, less screen time and an increase in activity," she suggests.

Landis also emphasizes the importance of making changes for the whole family. "As a family, get rid of calorically dense foods. Parents should be eating and drinking in a healthy way, too. Go for hikes together as a family or take up a new sport. Even normal-weight kids in the family should join in."

In her practice, Landis sees many kids who want to eat what their friends are eating, even if it's unhealthy. Kids don't want to be singled out. But she is hopeful that studies like this one will serve as a call to action.

"Hopefully pediatricians who see this study will help parents and notice when children are gaining weight too rapidly," says Landis. "The key is to do something before they become obese, before they turn into teens who weigh 300 to 400 pounds. It's about early intervention."

By Ronnie Koenig and Will Burgin