Obese child higher heart attack risk

Childhood Obesity Epidemic Holds Implications for Future Cardiovascular Health

Excess weight during childhood increases the risk for coronary heart disease during adult years, portending serious public health consequences, according to two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The first study, based on annual height-and-weight measurements in some 275,000 Danish schoolchildren, followed their health after age 25. Researchers found that higher BMI scores predicted higher risks for coronary diseases — both fatal and nonfatal — in adulthood. For example, a 13-year-old boy overweight by 11 kg (25 pounds) had a 33% higher risk for coronary disease in adulthood.

The second study, using a model based on U.S. health statistics, finds that with current rates of childhood obesity, the prevalence of coronary disease will increase between 5% and 16% by 2035.

A commentator recommends laws to regulate advertising of junk food, changes in farm subsidies, and funding for "decent lunches and regular physical activities at school."

Physician's First Watch for December 6, 2007
David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief