Researchers told the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions that the risk of heart disease starts early in childhood, by the age of seven, in a study of the link between body mass index (BMI) and heart disease risk.
The study included 308 healthy children (158 boys and 150 girls) from the age of three. BMI was measured every four months until the age of seven, when the heart and blood vessels were examined by echocardiography.
"Obesity is a problem that develops in childhood and has harmful effects on the heart and blood vessels," says Thomas Kimball, MD, professor of paediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio. Girls were more overweight than boys and so more at risk. Doctors should calculate children's BMI, and parents should be helped to avoid overfeeding their children and to encourage active play.
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