Kids eat out
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Want an idea of whether your kids are on a track toward heart problems? One way could be to count up your restaurant bills. Karen Olson of the Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation in Wausau, Wisconsin, says kids who ate out more often tended to have greater risk factors. These included worse cholesterol readings, higher blood pressure, and too little physical activity. Olson's study, which was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was featured at an American Heart Association meeting. Olson doubts restaurant meals alone are to blame. She suspects eating and activity patterns that continue at home. Her advice: "Anything that we can do to increase fruits and vegetables in our diets, and anything we can do to increase the amount of physical activity we get, is only going to benefit our children." (nine seconds) Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: June, 09 2006 | 
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