The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition has just updated its recommendations for cholesterol testing for children.  It used to be recommended for children 2 years and older whose parents had risk factors of:
Heart disease
High cholesterol levels
Disease and cholesterol levels of parents unknown

Now the new guidelines recommended cholesterol testing for all children who have risk factors starting at age 2 but no later than age 10.  These risk factors include:
Kids who are overweight
Kids who are obese
Kids with diabetes
Kids with high blood pressure
Kids that smoke

Why the change in guidelines?  Well, studies are finding changes in kids arteries that can lead to heart disease.  These changes are beginning in childhood.  By intervening during childhood through early diagnosis they can:
Start early education to change children’s eating habits, physical activity and some even need medicine.  This early intervention or treatment can possibly prevent heart problems later in life.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 6:51 am and is filed under Nutrition alerts, Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.