It’s never too early to instill healthy habits into your offspring. Unfortunately, most parents don’t receive that message. About a third of American children are overweight; one-fifth are obese.
According to a new study presented at an American Heart Association conference, the average obese child has damaged arteries similar to those found in a 45-year-old man. It’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommends cholesterol-lowering drugs for children that are at an elevated risk for heart disease.
Dr. Michael Schloss, a New York University heart disease prevention specialist, recently noted that obesity is more than a cosmetic issue for children. If you’ve seen what’s on the menu for most school lunches, these findings are no surprise, he added.
If your kids are suffering, a cell phone can help. Seriously. Keeping a diet and exercise diary is a sure-fire way to fix unhealthy habits, and a new University of North Carolina study found that kids aged 5 to 13 are almost twice as likely to text daily records of their food intake and exercise activities as those required to use a pen and paper.