And you assumed that only old folks had to worry about hardening of the arteries, officially known as atherosclerosis. Now, Swedish scientists have discovered that chronically obese teenagers can develop the disease due to metabolic mechanisms associated with their diets and weight…
Increased screen time, decreased physical activity, and a diet heavy
in added Sugar and Saturated Fat adds up to childhood obesity.
Perhaps the findings of this study will spur kids to slim down.
What they did
The study followed 3,423 Swedish children from age 9 to 17, measuring their body composition at ages at ages 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17. Weak x-ray scans were used to measure fat, muscle and bone proportions in the body. Researchers also investigated whether blood vessels, too, were affected by other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood lipid (Fat) levels and high blood Sugar.
What they found
They discovered that some of the kids – many of whom were chronically obese – had already started developing arterial plaque that could dangerously reduce the flexibility and blood flow of their arteries.
“We’ve been able to demonstrate that [body] fat mass as such is what is most strongly associated with arterial stiffness, but that inferior metabolic health boosts this effect,” said study spokesperson Dr. Frida Dangardt.
The takeaway
“The fact that we can see, already in the teenage years, that a decrease in fat mass brings about a normalization of the arterial stiffness is positive, since it shows we can do something about this risk,” says Dangardt.
Obviously, the findings add impetus to calls for combating childhood obesity.
My take
But who would have thought that teenagers would develop atherosclerosis? It’s supposed to be an old person’s disease, isn’t it? Seems all it takes is a bad diet, heavy on added sugar and saturated Fats, and it can develop at any age.
This is really bad news for people who’ve been obese through their teems and into their 20s and 3os. Their arteries are probably already in a pretty sorry state. Even if they make a concerted effort to get rid of the Fat starting now, their lives will be unalterably effected. There’s no cure for atherosclerosis – yet. Once the plaque is in place, there’s no safe way to get it out. The best doctors can do is insert a stent to try to open up the passageway allowing increased blood flow.
Perhaps these findings will impress on fat kids the importance of slimming down. Heart disease is no longer something they don’t have to worry about until ‘some day’…
~ Maggie J.