Carotid ultrasound at age 35 confirms risks of adolescent lipid abnormalites

Looking at LDL and HDL cholesterol as predictors of atherosclerosis, investigators from Bogalusa Louisiana, Finland and Australia followed 1700 adolescents prospectively to age 29-39. They used a non-invasive measure of atherosclerosis in the caroitd artery as a risk marker and found that those with higher LDL-C or lower HDL-C as teens had 1.6-2.5 times more atherosclerosis than those with normal levels of these 2 important lipoproteins. The test they used, carotid intimal medial thickness(CIMT), is becoming an important marker which correlates quite well with risk for heart attack and stroke. The study by Magnussen et al is published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The importance of this study is that it confirms the critical nature of early detection and management of lipid abnormalities.

Overweight adolescent faces health risk similar to smoking

A new study from the British Medical Journal reported in the New York Times quantifies the effect being overweight as a teen has on future health. The authors compared mortality at age 60 among 45,000 Swedish army recruits who were teens in 1969-70. They compared those who were overweight to those who were not and found the effect on mortality of being overweight was similar to the effect of smoking 1/2 pack of cigarettes a day. Since nearly 3 times as many teens are overweight as smoke, this finding makes adolescent obesity one of the most important and widespread modifiable risk factors we know of.

Exercise and diet work much better for kids.

An article in the NY Times discusses something that puzzles me and puzzles a lot of you too: how do those before and after pictures used to sell the latest fad in exercise equipment relate to reality? We've all seen the flabby,soft lumps transformed into svelte well toned muscles. Well surprise surprise, they're hype. The reality is 6 weeks or even 6 months is too short a time to see visible changes after a new exercise regimen and 30 minutes three times a week on any machine is not enough. The good news is that for kids things are different than for us adults. I've seen major improvements in looks in children and teenagers in short periods of time because they have one factor adults don't have-GROWTH. Kids who lose a modest amount of weight with diet and exercise or even just maintain their weight in a few short months look remarkably better and are much healthier than before. I've seen it happen time and again in my practice. All it takes is a desire on their part, the right advice, and a family willing to change the home environment to support them. So don't despair, get started now.