Obese Kids Boasting The Arteries Of 40-Somethings?
Wow.
Talk about timing.
The virtual ink was barely dry on my blog post, FTC Report: Marketing To Children, when I saw this disturbing report featured on CTV Newsnet, one of Canada’s main cable news television stations.
Apparently, researchers took 70 obese children (average age 13) and measured their carotid (neck) arteries. By measuring the thickness of this artery, they can determine how much plaque has built up, and whether that build up poses a potential health risk (plaque build up can clog arteries, which then become constricted. This can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke).
Anyhow, what they found was disturbing, but all things considered, not all that surprising: these children had a “vascular age” that exceed their own by 30 years. In other words, their carotid arteries were as clogged with plaque as a those of a typical 45 year old. They also had elevated cholesterol and triglycerides as well.
This is scary stuff, folks.
And it’s time to get serious. Really serious. Because your 13th birthday present should not be a Lipitor prescription.
