A sad sign of the times . . .
The Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents, appointed by National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health), has announced its recommendation that all children now be screened for high cholesterol as part of routine pediatric care.
Specifically, the panel recommended that children between the ages of 9 and 11 undergo a non-fasting lipid screening, and then undergo a second screening between the ages 18 and 21. It also recommend testing for diabetes in children 10 years of age (or at the onset of puberty) who are overweight and have other risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, such a as a family history of the disease.
The recommendations are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and will appear in the December issue of Pediatrics.
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This is a sad sign of the times, definitely, but there is a silver lining, I think. Doctors have a hard time talking to parents about healthy lifestyles for their families and kids. The BMI must not be cutting it as a conversation starter, but maybe cholesterol levels will? We have to figure out how best to reach parents and sometimes “doctor’s orders” help get people to change. I hope this leads to more counseling on nutrion and exercise, not just early drug taking. It’s certainly another wake-up call in the children’s obesity crisis.
That’s a nice way of looking at it, Grace – that it could lead to more, needed parent education.
Actually, this would have been nice had it been available when I was younger. Even though I wasn’t overweight until well into my 20s, the doctor now feels my cholesterol was high as early as pre-teenage years. My first cholesterol test (taken when I was 21) was, in fact, high – and I was in pretty good shape, as I had just gotten out of the military.
~EdT.
Yes, as I mentioned to Karen, I guess overweight and cholesterol are not always linked. Perhaps that was one impetus behind changing the protocol?
Both of my kids had cholesterol screening done as part of their annual physical in 2008. I think that was the year that pediatricians decided to start giving statins to kids as young as 6 if their cholesterol was higher than 180.
Of my two girls, the one with a higher BMI ranking had a cholesterol down around 110, just like her parents do. The other girl, who is/was/will always be smack in the middle of the BMI percentiles had a total cholesterol of 160. The nurses and DR looked at the test, looked at her – she was 6 that year – and asked about her diet (mostly dairy, then and now) and then moved on. I guess we’ll be tested again this year?
Interesting. I know BMI is not always a good indicator of a cholesterol problem, and that it can often be hereditary and present in lean people. But I’m assuming this new protocol is in response to overall and troubling changes in our kids’ diets, which does often manifest itself in weight gain. I’m assuming our pediatrician will raise this at our next check up, too.