HHS HealthBeat (September 26, 2008)

Heading toward heart trouble

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Teenage boys might have signs of the heart trouble they could have as men. Researcher Antoinette Moran of the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital found indications of that.

Moran looked at blood pressure, forms of cholesterol and problems with insulin in boys and girls from ages 11 to 19. She found male teens were more likely than females to have things worse.

``By the end of puberty, there was a pattern that these young men were moving in a direction that was of greater risk than the women.’’ (8 seconds)

Moran also says, though, that obesity could make things far worse in boys and girls. So she recommends weight control and exercise – which also works against blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin problems.

The study in the journal Circulation was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 26 2008