NIH Radio
Childhood obesity and cardiovascular risk
Brief Description:
Obesity in childhood can lead to cardiovascular risk later in life.
Transcript:
Balintfy: A recent paper in the journal Pediatrics authored by CDC researchers using a very large, national database, shows that obesity seriously affects many children in this country. Dr. Kristina Rother, at the NIH Clinical Center, explains researchers collected information on what it means to be obese or overweight as a child in regards to cardiovascular risk factors.
Rother: Unfortunately, they have found that the more overweight or obese a child is, the more frequently you find these risk factors, which means in the long run, the obese children are truly at a higher risk to develop myocardial infarction or heart attack, stroke, and other complications from obesity.
So we really need to let go of this concept that it's kind of nice to have a chubby child, it's all right and they'll probably outgrow it. That's probably not the case. They will not outgrow it and it's not okay to be heavy as a child because you will observe consequences down the line.
Balintfy: One consequence says Dr. Rother, is type 2 diabetes, which is also a growing public health problem.
Rother: We know for a long time that heavier individuals have a higher risk of developing of type 2 diabetes. But now we're learning that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is not only due to who are your parents and whether they have it, whether you are overweight or obese, but also to which environment you were exposed while you were a baby or better in the womb of the mother.
Balintfy: Dr. Rother emphasizes the importance of awareness.
Rother: Many, many parents don't know whether their child is in fact overweight or obese and the first step is often taken by the pediatrician who at a well baby check or a well child visit points out that the child is too heavy. And then most parents ask, "What can I do about it?"
And typically, it's a family affair. The whole family needs to actually change some lifestyle components, most often diets but also exercise, television time, sleep time, when does the child go to bed, overall stress level. So there are many components that can then be addressed. Well, the first step is to make sure that everybody knows the child is overweight or obese.
Balintfy: She also encourages participation in clinical trials, noting that currently in the United States there are roughly 18 intervention trials.
Rother: They try to find solutions, interventions that either prevent the development of obesity or that will help with the treatment of obesity in children.
Balintfy: Dr. Rother also recommends resources like WeCan! - Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition; WIN – the Weight Information Network; and Let's Move, with First Lady Michelle Obama.
Rother: I think the wealth of resources is really there. What is so hard is to implement the changes.
Balintfy: For more information on obesity prevention in children, visit these websites: wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov, win.niddk.nih.gov and letsmove.gov. For NIH Radio, this is Joe Balintfy — NIH . . . Turning Discovery Into Health.
About This Audio Report
Date: 7/26/2012
Reporter: Joe Balintfy
Sound Bite: Dr. Kristina Rother
Topic: obesity, overweight, child, children, childhood, childhood obesity,
Additional Info:
NIH Podcast Episode #0163
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