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Children should be checked for blood cholesterol levels between 9 and 11, and then again between 17 and 21 years,the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced in newguidelines for doctors. The NIH says the guidelines have beenendorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. In other words, twocholesterol checks before the age of 21. The guidelines have beenpublished today in the journal Pediatrics . The new recommendations appear in a document titled "Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Healthand Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents: Summary Report". Previous recommendations included only children with a familyhistory of high cholesterol or heart disease , and other factors linked to cardiovascular disease risk. The authors wrote: "Atherosclerosis begins in youth, and this process, from itsearliest phases, is related to the presence and intensity of theknown cardiovascular risk factors. Clinical events such asmyocardial infarction, stroke , peripheral arterial disease , and ruptured aortic aneurysm are the culmination of the lifelong vascular process ofatherosclerosis." They add that the earlier cardiovascular prevention starts thebetter. As parents of young children are generally young too, they may nothave manifested any of the signs and symptoms indicating a familyhistory of cardiovascular problems. The authors say doctors shouldinclude grandparents, aunts and uncles when deciding on whetherfamily history is a risk factor for a pediatric patient. If a family history does exist of cardiovascular disease, doctorsshould screen for various risk factors. Otherwise, only routinenon-HDL cholesterol screening should be done. Non-HDL cholesterolscreening does not require the patient to fast beforehand, so itcan be done there and then during the child's visit to the doctor. A child with high cholesterol should initially be treated with achange in diet, the authors wrote. Drugs should only be consideredif the LDL levels reach 190 mg/dL for patients aged 10 years ormore, and for whom diet and physical activity interventions werenot effective. If risk factors are present, the LDL threshold is lowered to 160mg/dL. The guidance also recommends: Parents should start talking to their children about the harms oftobacco products when they are between 5 and 9 years of age Parents should make sure their children are not inhalingenvironmental tobacco smoke Health professionals should monitor children's height-weight ratiostogether with their partents. If after the age of 4 they remainabove the 85th percentile with no weight loss after six months,they should be referred to a qualified dietitian Children should have their blood pressure checked once a year fromthe age of 3 years Children should be encouraged to be physically active and limit theamount of time they remain sitting in front of screens. Sedentarypastimes should be limited to no more than two hours per day Fasting glucose should be monitored from the age of 9 to 11 years The guidelines advice doctors to use proper terms with their realmeanings when describing a child's current state. For example, ifthe child's BMI is in the 85th to 95th percentile they should saythey are overweight , rather than at risk of overweight , and those in the 95th percentile or above should be called obese , rather than overweight , regardless of how young the child is. Reactions to these guidelines have been mixed, from enthusiasm toskepticism and serious concern. A predominant feedback we havereceived at Medical News Today has been that higher cholesterollevels during childhood do not necessarily lead to heart diseaselater on. Childhood obesity in the USA Over the last few decades, obesity/overweight rates among childrenin the USA have risen alarmingly. From 2000 to 2006 increase inprevalence of obesity slowed down considerably to just over 17%. By 2008, it wasestimated that 32% of American children were overweight or obese.(The graph above refers only to obesity, not overweight) A recent study published by the UCLA Center for Health PolicyResearch and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy(CCPHA) reported that the obesity/overweight rate in Californianchildren dropped one percentage point from 2005 to 2010. ( Link to article ) UK doctors reluctant to discuss obesity/overweight with parents A recent study carried out by the University of Bristol, England,found that UK GPs (general practitioners, primary care physicians)are reluctant to talk about obesity or overweight with parents, orrefer their overweight children to weight reduction services. Theresearchers informed that with 1 in 5 children aged 11 years beingcurrently overweight or obese in the UK, it is vital that GPs makean effort to address this growing problem. ( Link to article ) Other studies in several countries around the world have revealed asimilar problem regarding doctors' reluctance to talk aboutobesity/overweight with children or their parents. Written by Christian Nordqvist Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Sauer Pumps , Vickers Pump , and more. For more , please visit Hydraulic Piston Pump today!
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