Weight in Infancy and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Adulthood

Posted on June 7, 2008
Filed Under Heart Disease, child |

A growing problem
It is a reality that throughout the world for children and adolescents being overweight and obesity in an increasingly younger age. This involves, among many other problems, many children are at risk of orthopedic disorders, endocrine disorders and social rejection.

The epidemic of childhood obesity should be concerned that we are living and far because, in addition to the effects described above, it is likely that excess weight in childhood adversely affects health in adulthood.

Already have risk factors
Risk factors for developing coronary artery disease of the heart such as hypertension, excess fat in the blood, glucose intolerance and other abnormalities of blood vessels, are already present in overweight children and adolescents. Thus, excess weight in childhood may increase the likelihood of heart disease in adulthood as a result of the early establishment of these risk factors.

Two new studies
Two important studies published recently in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine analyzed the phenomenon. In one the authors investigated whether the excess weight in childhood is associated with coronary artery disease of the heart in adulthood in a group of more than 275,000 people born in Denmark in 30 years and followed for more than 45 years.

The researchers examined the effect of body mass index (a formula that relates the weight to height by the equation: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) in childhood on the risk of developing any type of disease, coronary arteries of the heart.

In a sample of 275,000 people
The results showed that the risk of developing such diseases in the adult stage was higher in boys with the highest values of body mass index and lower in boys with low values of this index. Moreover, they discovered that the risk of an adult develop a coronary problem increases as the child’s age increased. In girls’ results were similar, although the associations were lower.

Coronary arteries
The authors conclude that their study shows that high values of BMI in childhood (expressing overweight and obesity) are associated with an increased risk of developing diseases of the coronary arteries of the heart in adulthood and that this risk increases as does the child’s age. Propose to help children get and maintain an appropriate weight to prevent complications in the future.

In the other study authors considered the potential impact of adolescent overweight on coronary artery disease of the heart in the adult stage and explored whether the expected increase in the number of coronary problems could be reversed addressing modifiable risk factors for disease Coronary heart-related obesity.

One in three teenagers will be overweight or obese…
Their results indicate that one in three overweight or obese adolescents have within 12 years. As a result there will be an increase in the occurrence of new cases of coronary artery disease of the heart and death in young adults. Similarly, they estimate that by 2035 the prevalence or existing cases of heart disease will increase from 5% to 16%, with over 100,000 cases of coronary disease in excess of the increase attributable to obesity. Although an aggressive treatment of these diseases with drugs could reduce the current problem, do not think that will solve it completely.

They conclude that, with all the precautions possible, the data suggest that overweight adolescents will increase the number of coronary heart disease among youth and young adults of tomorrow, which will result in increased illness and death among them.

We need to stop childhood obesity
The society is increasingly aware, of course, the problem. But the numbers can only increase, which is extremely worrying. Be taken for information dissemination on a large scale and to curb this problem. The health authorities should be aware of this need for the overall health of the population and, of course, by the increase in healthcare costs that childhood obesity is causing.

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