American Teens Getting Head Start on Poor Health
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013April 3, 2013
An alarming proportion of adolescents in the United States are well on their way to developing heart disease as adults due to poor eating habits and a lack of exercise, according to a new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the journal Circulation. Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States and many other countries. Experts at the AHA worry that the high rate of heart disease in the United States will increase dramatically unless the trends they see among adolescents are reversed.
The report provided details from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), an assessment of the health and nutritional status of 4,673 American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19. The survey measured several health and lifestyle factors that are known to play a role in the development of coronary artery disease in adults. The health factors measured included body-mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood cholesterol level, and fasting blood glucose (sugar) level. Questions about daily diet, physical activity, and smoking were used to measure lifestyle factors that affect a person’s risk for developing heart disease. Each adolescent was then assigned a cardiovascular health score on the basis of these factors.
Fewer than half of all teens in the survey had scores that medical experts considered acceptable for good heart health on five or more of the measured factors. In one of the most alarming findings, fewer than 1 percent of the teens surveyed ate a diet considered ideal for preventing future cardiovascular disease. The AHA considers an ideal diet for heart health to consist of 4 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables and three servings of whole grain daily, at least two servings of fish weekly, and fewer than 450 calories’ worth of sugar-sweetened beverages each week. About 90 percent of males and 86 percent of females in the survey had diets described as “poor” in terms of future heart health.
A higher-than-expected proportion of teens in the survey had BMI and blood glucose levels associated with the development of heart disease in adults. One-third of teens surveyed already had unhealthy blood cholesterol levels. About half of all teens in the survey met acceptable levels of physical activity to maintain heart health.
Medical experts believe that about 80 percent of deaths from heart disease can be prevented with healthy habits that include a well-balanced diet and regular exercise.
The NHANES results reveal that a disturbing number of American adolescents have already established habits that may contribute to heart disease as they mature into adults. Such diet and lifestyle choices are more difficult to change once they have become habits. AHA officials stated that broad changes in education and society will be necessary to promote changes in the diet and exercise habits of American teens today.
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