RNS: Big risks for little hearts, February 2008
TIME: 1:11
URL: www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2008/hmkidsheart.htm
U-M Health Minute: Today’s top health issues and medical research
Big risks for little hearts:
Many of today’s kids face heart disease tomorrow
if families don’t change diet and exercise habits
U-M expert says kids whose parents or grandparents had heart attacks or diabetes before their 60s, and kids who are overweight, face highest risk
Suggested lead: Many kids today face heart disease in the future. But University of Michigan Health System experts say parents can act now to change their children’s diet and exercise, and put them on a better path to good heart health. Here’s Andi McDonnell with more.
At the age of 10, Kori DeBolt had a cholesterol level that would scare a grown man. She also had a mom who was diagnosed with high cholesterol in her 30s, and a grandfather who had a heart attack at the age of 38.
In other words, if she didn’t do something now, she was probably heading toward an early heart attack herself.
Kori’s mom, Angela DeBolt, tells us…
“Once we found out Kori had high cholesterol we made some family decisions and talked more about choices in our food because we were doing a lot of things that were heart-healthy but not necessarily enough.”
Angela changed what her family ate and boosted their exercise levels. And within five years, the family succeeded in bringing Kori’s cholesterol down by 82 points.
And Kori says those changes will set her on the path to leading a healthier adult life…
“It’s important for me to attend to my healthy choices now because it’ll be easier for me in the future to use the same choices and I’ll be a healthier person.”
Like Kori, millions of American kids face early heart disease if their families don’t do something now, says Kori’s heart doctor, Caren Goldberg (M.D.), of the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.
“Often people might think of heart disease as something that only happens during adulthood but really a lot of the risk for heart disease starts during childhood.”
Knowing that a child has a higher-than-normal risk should spur families to do everything that is in their control to reduce that risk, Goldberg says. That means choosing healthier foods, and making sure to get regular physical activity.
Goldberg explains…
“I think one of the keys is setting good examples, but having fun with it. So make change slowly and make it a normal part of your life. So if you see that there are lots of things that you have to change to have that perfect heart-healthy lifestyle don’t try and do it all at once but, as a family, take on one piece at a time and it will soon just become a normal way of life.”
Andi McDonnell, U-M Health System News. |
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