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2007-9-4 12:35:47 |
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Being overweight at young age may likely be a high risk for short term and long term health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease, according to new results from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Growth and Health Study. The study titled "Childhood Overweight and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: The National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute Growth and Health Study" will be published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. It was funded by NHLBI, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The study suggests that girls as young as age 9 who are overweight are at increased risk for problems that increase the chances of developing cardiovascular disease including hypertension, high cholesterol, triglyceride and fasting insulin levels. In the study, researchers followed more than 2,300 girls ages 9 and 10 including 1166 Caucasian and 1213 African-American girls for more than ten years for their height, weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol annually through age 18, and obtained self-reported measures at ages 21 to 23. The girls were more than 1.6 times more likely to become overweight during ages 9 to 12 years than in later adolescence, according to the researchers. Girls who were overweight were also more likely to have elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels compared to those who were not overweight. Additionally, girls who were overweight during childhood were 11 to 30 times more likely than non-overweight girls to be obese in young adulthood (ages 21 to 23), the results of the study show. The risk of becoming overweight and obese during young adulthood was different between African-American girls and Caucasian girls. Black girls were 1.5 times more likely to become overweight at any given age than white girls. The prevalence of overweight among black girls was 17 percent at age 9 and 24 percent at age 18. In comparison, the prevalence of overweight among white girls was 7 percent at age 9 to 10 percent at age 18. "In 1999, 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in the United States were overweight. This prevalence has nearly tripled for adolescents in the past 2 decades," the General Surgeon states on its website regarding overweight in children and adolescents. "Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese. Overweight or obese adults are at risk for a number of health problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer," the General Surgeon says. The results of the study suggest that measures need to be taken to tackle the overweight problem as early as possible. "This (study) shows that obesity and other risk factors for heart disease track from younger to older. This is a wake-up call for policymakers, for schools, for parents," Arlene Spark, associate professor of nutrition at Hunter College, in New York City was quoted by healthday.com as saying. "The success rate for treatment is practically zero. The only thing that we can really hope for is that we can prevent children from becoming overweight and obese." Sue Y. S. from the University of Pittsburgh and her colleagues examined all the possible factors including socioeconomic, demographic, psychosocial and cultural factors, body dissatisfaction, dietary Intake, dietary patterns and dieting practices, and physical activity. They found risk of becoming overweight is determined by a range of factors. They presented the report titled "What We Know about Obesity Development During Adolescence: Findings from the NHLBI Growth and Health Study" at Predictors of Obesity, Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity Workshop, Bethesda, MD, August 4-5, 2004. Although many factors affect the risk of becoming overweight at young age, there are only two controllable factors that have a direct impact on the risk. They are dietary practice and physical activity, which determine the energy intake and expenditure and the risk of weight gain or loss. But what can children and adults do to prevent becoming overweight or obese? The U.S. General Surgeon offers the following suggestions cited in verbatim. |
