Obese Children as Young as Three Show Signs of Future Heart Disease

Being at risk for developing heart disease or having a stroke was once something only adults had to worry about. But now children are being added to the meld, many of them as young as three years old. In fact, a recent study found that about twice as many obese 3-to-5-year old children had elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP)—an inflammatory marker that experts say has been shown to predict the risk of heart disease, stroke and death under certain conditions—compared to those at healthy weights. And that difference grew to more than four times the frequency in teenagers from 15 to 17 years old.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina, involved 16,000 children and adolescents aged 1 to 17; nearly 70 percent of which were a healthy weight, 15 percent were overweight, 11 percent were obese, and 3.5 percent were severely obese. Overall, 40 percent of obese children aged 3-5 had increased levels of CRP, compared with 17 percent of those at healthy weights. By age 15-17, 83 percent of the severely obese had increased levels of CRP, compared with 18 percent of the healthy weight adolescents.

High levels of CRP are an indication of inflammation in the body. Because the damage seen in heart disease is caused by inflammation in arterial walls, it follows that CRP could be used as a general marker for the risk of heart disease. Previous studies have linked high levels of CRP in overweight and obese adults with an increased risk of heart disease, but less has been known about CRP levels in children. “We’re seeing a relationship between weight status and elevated inflammatory markers much earlier than we expected,” said study lead Dr. Asheley Cockrell Skinner, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine.

The researchers observed a similar pattern of elevation when they check two other inflammation markers, although one wasn’t elevated in obese children under six. Levels of one were higher in obese children from the age of six and the other from age nine. “In this study we were unable to tease apart whether the inflammation or the obesity came first but one theory is that obesity leads to inflammation, which then leads to heart and vessel disease later on,” said study co-author Dr. Eliana Perrin, who is with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School. “A lot more work needs to be done before we figure out the full implication of these findings, but this study tells us that very young, obese children already have more inflammation than children who are not obese—and that’s very concerning.”

U.S. Kids Increasing Daily Snack Consumption

Historically, cultural generations in America have been defined by multiple names, each representing something different about that generation. For instance, the G.I. Generation, also dubbed the Greatest Generation by journalist Tom Brokaw, includes those born from around 1916 to the mid-1920s and who came of age during the Great Depression. The Baby Boom Generation is the generation born between 1946 and the mid-1960s, a time marked by an increase in birth rates. Those born between 2000 and 2009 are being referred to as Generation Z, as well as Generation I, Digital Natives, the Internet Generation—various names given them due to their status as the first generation to grow up almost entirely within the Digital Era. But if they continue their current snacking habits, Generation Z may become known as the Generation of Non-Stop Nibblers.

After analyzing data on 31,337 children aged 2 to 18 from four different federal surveys on food and eating, researchers at the University of North Carolina discovered that on average nearly a third of the calories taken in by American kids come from snacks—food eaten outside regular meals. “Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children’s daily calories are coming from snacks,” they reported. “The largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks.”

Dr. Barry M. Popkin, study co-author and director of nutrition epidemiology at UNC says that while these are averages, the data showed that half of American children snack about four times a day and some appear to be eating almost constantly, consuming either snacks or meals as often as 10 times a day. “They are eating more times, and they’re not eating healthy foods,” Popkin said. “It would be great if they were eating fruits and vegetables and reduced-fat milk—and every now and then a cookie or two—but the foods are going from bad to worse.”

The data showed that, compared with children in the late 1970s, today’s kids are scarfing down 168 more snack calories per day, with 2-to-6-year-olds consuming an extra 182 calories a day. CBS News medical correspondent, Dr. Jon LaPook says that when you put that increase into perspective, at 3,500 calories per pound it translates to an extra 17.5 pounds a year.

“We have to reduce the number of snacks kids are eating, but we also have to change their choices,” said study co-author Carmen Piernas. “Kids are eating high-fat snacks and fruit juices out of vending machines, instead of eating fresh fruits and milk,” unhealthy choices that may lead to iron deficiencies, delays in physical development and poor school performance.

A second study by researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul shows just how available those unhealthy choices are. Data found that vending machines were available in 21 percent of U.S. public elementary schools, 62 percent of public middle schools, and 86 percent of public high schools. The study authors, led by Nicole Larson at the University’s department of food science and nutrition, said that while schools depend on competitive foods for revenue, “the data do not show that improving the nutritional quality of competitive food or restricting certain food or beverages hurts school revenue.”

Weight Gain Contributes to Breast Cancer Risks

If you were to do a little time traveling, flashing back to when you were 18, how would your weight differ from what it is today? According to research by the American Cancer Society, the amount of weight a woman gains after the age of 18 is a strong indicator as to whether she will get breast cancer later in life.

Weight gain and body mass were identified long ago as risk factors for breast cancer. The Cancer Society estimates between one-third and one-half of all breast cancer deaths among older women have been contributed to weight.

Fat tissue makes estrogen, and estrogen can help breast cancer grow. Heather Spencer Feigelson, senior epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society said, “Breast cancer is strongly dependent on body weight. Even modest amounts of weight gain lead to a significantly increased risk of breast cancer.”

One of the largest studies of breast cancer and weight included 1,934 breast cancer cases among 62,756 women involved in a separate long-term study. Women ages 50 to 74, who were post-menopausal, were asked their weight in 1992 when the study began and their weight when they were 18 years old. They were also sent questionnaires at yearly intervals.

The researchers said older women who gained 20 to 30 pounds after high school graduation were 40 percent more likely to get breast cancer than women who kept the weight off. If the weight gain was more than 70 pounds, the risk was doubled. Lean post-menopausal women not taking hormone replacement therapy produce very little estrogen and had the lowest cancer risk in the study.

Associate professor of surgery at Columbia University, Dr. Paul Tartter said, “The more fat you have—fat cells are capable of synthesizing estrogen—the heavier you are, the higher your estrogen levels. There’s no question that estrogen is the common denominator of most of our risk factors for breast cancer.”