You Can Lower Your Child's Risk Of Heart Disease

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     It is now very clear that elevated cholesterol, elevated triglycerides and obesity in childhood all create a significant increased risk for heart disease later in life. It is also clear that having normal cholesterol, avoidance of smoke exposure, and not being obese protects children from developing atherosclerosis in young adulthood. As parents, we have the opportunity to teach our children the behaviors that can help them have better health throughout their lives.

     Habits are hard to break once they are established, but parents can decide what habits their children learn.  From the time an infant starts solid foods at six months of age, parents determine what foods the child will eat and consider “normal”. We also teach eating habits and, in the fight against obesity, the way we eat is often as important as what we eat.

     There are many ways to decrease the extra calories that lead to obesity. Don’t give your child juices and sugar-sweetened drinks. From the very beginning, give the child real fruit rather than fruit juice and start right way putting water in the bottles when the child isn’t drinking formula. Don’t give prepared foods or foods with extra sugar added. Give fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables and serve them at every meal. Limit high-calorie sauces such as cream and cheese sauce. Serve lean meats, limit red meat, take the skin off poultry after cooking it and eat broiled or baked fish as often as possible. Buy whole–grain breads and cereals rather than the high salt, added sugar, processed breads and cereal. Read the labels, but you don’t have to spend extra money for “natural” or “organic” foods that are often just marketing ploys. Limit eating out, especially at fast-food places where the serving sizes are huge and the calories are high. Limit the size of servings at home and don’t force the “clean plate” philosophy. After two years of age, give nonfat or low-fat milk. Use vegetable oil in cooking and avoid saturated fats and trans fatty acids. Finally, only eat in the kitchen. The habit of constantly snacking creates obesity and starts with popping a fruit snack or goldfish into an eighteen month-old’s mouth every time you’d like to quiet him down.

     Finally, there is the issue of exercise.  Getting the kids out of the house and away from the electronic games is difficult unless the child has grown up with the concept that the whole family takes a walk together after dinner – rain, shine or snow. Children want to do what their parents do and if they get used to walking, biking, jogging, or swimming with their parents, they’ll be looking forward to it – you won’t have to force them.

     The added benefit is that by teaching your child these habits, you’ll be doing them yourself and giving yourself and your child a head start in the fight against obesity and heart disease.
     Current recommendations are that all children should have lipid screening between ages 9 to 11 but earlier if a child has diabetes, exposure to tobacco or a family history of high cholesterol or triglycerides.