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May 4th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) — No longer an adults-only issue,
heart health has become increasingly problematic for American
children.
An array of factors has been deemed key to a healthy heart by the
American Heart Association, including maintaining a healthy weight, being
physically active on a regular basis, eating a healthy diet, not smoking
and keeping blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels normal.
But half of U.S. kids meet just four or fewer of these health criteria,
according to a report, Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics — 2012
Update, which was published in Circulation.
And, among those in high school, 30 percent of girls and 17 percent of
boys do not get the recommended 60 minutes a day of physical activity, the
report noted.
In addition, a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that one in five children had abnormal cholesterol
levels, which prompted the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue new
guidelines recommending that all children 9 to 11 years old be screened
for high cholesterol levels.
“A number of things are happening to impact children’s heart health,”
said Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, professor and chairman of the pediatrics
department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora and
a spokesman for the American Heart Association. “One is the increase in
prevalence and severity of obesity.”
“Obesity drives a lot of risks in adults, and that seems to be true for
children, too,” he added. “The concern is that we may now have a
generation of children that are destined for heart disease as adults.”
More than one-third of America’s children are currently overweight or
obese, according to the CDC. Nearly 20 percent are obese.
Children who are overweight or obese are far more likely to have high
blood pressure than their normal-weight peers. They’re also more likely to
have high cholesterol levels, according to the CDC.
Dr. Vivek Allada, clinical director of pediatric cardiology at the
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, explained that pediatric cardiology has
been changing over the years. In the past, he said, adult-type heart
disease was much rarer and congenital heart disease was more the norm for
pediatric patients.
“In some sense, congenital heart disease is fixing plumbing, but
acquired heart disease requires fixing the lifestyle,” Allada said. “We’re
very good at fixing leaks or unclogging blocks, but fixing the lifestyle
requires a multi-player team approach that involves the physician, the
patient, the family and the school.”
Though children, like adults, can take medication to bring down their
cholesterol levels, health experts agree that it’s more important to
instill healthy lifestyle habits in children.
“You can’t replace heart-healthy living with a pill,” Allada pointed
out. “This is a marathon, not a sprint, and you need your cholesterol down
for your life. We want you to build good habits. You have to focus on diet
and exercise. It’s also important to eliminate soda and simple sugars, not
to smoke, and to watch your salt intake. There are multiple factors we
have to take into account.”
Allada and Daniels agreed that heart-healthy living has to be a family
affair.
“Parents need to find a way to make the healthiest choice the easiest
choice,” Daniels said. “We didn’t all decide as a population to start
having unhealthy lifestyles simultaneously; it’s an issue of convenience.
We need to figure out how to work with or eliminate the unintended
consequences of what we do every day.”
In the home, he said, that means parents have to pay attention to diet
and activity levels. “Parents really are in charge of the home environment
and have a tremendous opportunity to build a healthy environment at home,”
Daniels explained. “Allow children to make choices among healthy options.
It promotes a kind of self-efficacy and equips children to do better.”
As for physical activity, he said to make sure it’s something the whole
family enjoys.
“Be active, but make it fun and enjoy it,” he advised. “Figure out what
the kids like to do.”
More information
The American Heart Association has more on helping kids develop healthy habits.
A companion article has details on a 12-year-old girl’s fight against heart trouble.
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