The advice came after the research which showed that cholesterol fighting drugs are very much safe for children.
Earlier policy, which was issued in year 1998 recommended kids with risk factors or family history of heart disease for screening. But, the updated guidelines lay a major emphasis on the need for such screening and for subsequent treatment, given the larger waistlines, poor eating habits and lack of physical activities of US youth.
A member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition, Dr. Stephen Daniels says that the latest advice from the committee is based on mounting evidence which shows that damage leading to heart disease begins early in life.
Daniels said, "If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood."
The committee recommended kids in the ages of 2 to 10 years to have cholesterol tests if they have a family history of inherited cholesterol disease or if either of their parents/grandparents had cardiovascular disease before age of 55 for men and 65 for women.
Also, screening is advocated for obese children, when family history is not known, for kids with other heart disease risk factors or has diabetes.
One of the main causes for heart disease is being overweight, which is usually accompanied by cholesterol problems, the new advice by the academy is to make kids as young as 12 months drink low-fat milk “for whom overweight or obesity is a concern." Though, small children do need fat for the development of brain, the committees says that because kids often consume so much fat, low-fat milk is now appropriate.
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease claims life of an individual in every 37 seconds and is the leading cause of death in the US.
The doctors must give cholesterol fighting drugs to children who are at least 8 years old and have too much “bad cholesterol” or LDL along with other health conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure.
Children who have little amount of “good cholesterol” or HDL must start doing physical exercise daily, focusing on shedding extra pounds and on improving their diet. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges children to do moderate activities such as walking or riding a bike for at least one hour per day.
Duke University children's heart specialist, Dr. Jennifer Li says that when nearly as many as one third of children in US alone are overweight, with 17 percent of them falling in the category of obese, such recommendations are welcoming.
Li said, "We need to do something to stem the tide of childhood obesity."
According to the recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics, approximately one out of 5 children is obese.
Alongside the academy is also asking for cholesterol testing for children as young as 2 years.
In America, 1 out of 3 children is now being considered as overweight or obese. Apart from the US, obesity is causing concern in the United Kingdom and Australia. The main reason is sedentary lifestyle as many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video-game console.
Kids who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for developing medical problems (apart from cholesterol and heart disease) that affect their present and future health and quality of life, such as high blood pressure and abnormal blood lipid levels, insulin
define resistance, type 2 diabetesdefine, restless or disordered sleep patterns, liver and gall bladderdefine disease, bone and joint problems, depressiondefine etc.
Children who have heart disease risk factors in childhood including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can lead to serious medical problems like heart disease, heart failure and stroke when they grow up.
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