Tell your parents to watch! Study: Obesity in childhood increases risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death in adulthood
With the sophistication of diet and the rise of 3C products, many children have never exercised and never leave their smartphones, doubling their risk of being exposed to excessive obesity and abnormal body posture. A research report published in the New England Journal of Medicine claimed that cardiovascular events in childhood are highly associated with cardiovascular disease in adulthood and may increase adult mortality; it called on parents not to ignore the obesity problem in their children.
Don’t ignore cardiovascular events in children! “Five indicators” all meet the risk of increasing adult mortality
The team from the University of Minnesota in the United States extracted the medical records of nearly 40,000 subjects aged 3-19 from 1970 to 1990, and evaluated the five risk factors that children and adolescents are most likely to develop cardiovascular disease: BMI, vasoconstrictive blood pressure, Total cholesterol levels, triglycerides and smoking frequency. The team also assessed the subjects’ age, gender, race, height and weight, and measured cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the subjects’ blood.
The research team conducted random interviews with subjects from 2015 to 2019 and found that: the probability of cardiovascular events is higher in men than in women, and the educational level of parents is generally lower, which is positively correlated with higher mortality. In addition, for every additional one of the above five risk factors, the risk ratio will increase by 2.75%.
Research claims that exposure to one of these cardiovascular risk factors in childhood may be related to cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Developing serious cardiovascular events in early childhood is also associated with higher cardiovascular mortality before age 60.
Is childhood obesity related to family education? Expert: Parents lack correct dietary concepts
David R. Jacobs, Jr., MD, University of Minnesota and author of the study, believes that children are less likely to develop cardiovascular events than adults. According to past test reports, atherosclerosis in young people is generally related to dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, or smoking habits.
Jacobs pointed out that the proportion of cardiovascular events in children is increasing year by year, but the concept of healthy eating is still not popularized in schools at all levels. Parents’ eating habits may also have an impact on children. Data shows that the number of obese people in the United States is as high as 36.2%. Therefore, public health experts must not only pay attention to the “widespreadness” of obesity, but also pay attention to its “heritability.”
“If parents have poor eating habits and misconceptions are passed on to the next generation, it will be difficult to escape the vicious cycle of obesity!” Jacobs said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also pointed out that children should develop five ways to avoid childhood obesity by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, increasing exercise frequency, reducing sugar intake, reducing screen time and getting enough sleep. The CDC also reminds that children tend to imitate the behaviors of adults. As parents, we should set an example to reduce the problem of childhood obesity and guide the next generation to develop correct health concepts as early as possible.
source:
Childhood Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Adult Cardiovascular Events
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