Doctors give heart disease warning for obese children

Doctors in Sydney have shown for the first time that overweight and obese children are already showing signs of heart disease, that could lead to premature heart attacks and strokes.

Doctors in Sydney have shown for the first time that overweight and obese children are already showing signs of heart disease, that could lead to premature heart attacks and strokes.The research by experts at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, in collaboration with colleagues in Hong Kong, also shows that a sustained change in diet and exercise can reverse the danger.While professor of cardiology David Celermajer welcomes initiatives to cut junk foods in schools, he says the main responsibility lies with parents.”The parents have got to take a bit of an initiative in this direction,” he said. “I think that we can help kids at school, but they have most of their meals at home and I think that we all know that children in our society are getting more obese.”This is a call to really do something about it because, if we don’t, childhood obesity is going to undo all the tremendous heart advances of the last 30 years and the next 30 years.”(Source: ABC Health News, April 2004)