Heart disease and obesity

Pediatrics for Parents, Oct, 2003

Obese children as young as 13 years old have the chances of heart disease. A Swedish study found that obese children had left ventricular hypertrophy--enlargement of the heart chamber that pumps the blood throughout the body. In adults, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a risk factor for heart attacks.

The doctors performed cardiac MRIs on 40 healthy 13 year olds. Half were obese, the others of normal body weight. The obese children had, on average, a 22% increase in the size and mass of their left ventricles compared to the non-obese children.

Other studies on this same group of children found that the obese children had triglyceride levels that were 2.5 times that of the non-obese children. The HDL levels (the "good cholesterol") in the obese children was nearly 20% lower than in the non-obese kids. The average blood pressure of the obese children was 116/68; for the non-obese children it was 108/61.

Even at age 13, obese children have many of the risk factors for heart disease. The current epidemic of obesity in children living in developed countries must be addressed. All obese children are at an increased risk for heart disease.