HHS HealthBeat (December 10, 2007)

Growing into heart trouble

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

Around the world, more children are gaining more weight. And researcher Jennifer Baker says this epidemic of obesity will raise their risks of heart disease when they grow up.

Baker, who’s with the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Denmark, examined data on Danish children ages 7 through 13, and looked at their adult rates of heart disease. Her study, which was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was in the New England Journal of Medicine.

``The higher the child’s body mass index, which is a measure of total body fatness, the greater the risk of heart disease in adulthood.’’ (7 seconds)

Baker says we can’t think of those extra pounds as something they’ll just grow out of – they have to make changes, by eating right, being active, and creating surroundings that support wellness.

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: May, 26 2008