Recent studies show that atherosclerotic lesions already occur in two-year-old children and that if they are not picked up in time, these people will die young. That is why it is worth checking your toddler’s cholesterol level.
Remember that apart from cancer, diseases that are a consequence of atherosclerotic lesions resulting, among others, from as a result of too much cholesterol in the blood, they are the main killers of Poles. It turns out that the problem of high cholesterol also applies to children. Doctors say that practice shows that the obese have too much of it. Also, in toddlers from families where someone had a heart attack or stroke, its level is exceeded.
Let’s study our children
Cholesterol levels in children are increasingly being tested in many countries. – Unfortunately, in Poland it is a very rare practice – regrets Dr. Elżbieta Puacz, president of the National Chamber of Laboratory Diagnosticians. – The tests should be performed in 5-year-olds – says prof. Elżbieta Pac-Kożuchowska, head of the Department of Paediatrics at the Medical University of Lublin. Meanwhile, paediatricians and family doctors do not order them for young patients. Sometimes parents, aware of the risks, use their own money to buy such diagnostics for their children. However, as Dr. Puacz emphasizes, cholesterol and lipid fractions tests in Poland are guaranteed benefits under the National Health Fund insurance and should be done free of charge. The family doctor looking after a family in which someone has had a heart attack or stroke should inform them that the disease may be hereditary and therefore children should be provided with preventive care.
Toddler on research
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, cholesterol levels in children should be tested after the age of two, when one parent has high cholesterol of 240 mg / dL or higher, family members have had heart disease before the age of 10, and if the child is obese or has features of the metabolic syndrome such as high blood pressure or diabetes. You can ask your pediatrician or family doctor for a referral. The tests are also available as part of the “Check the cholesterol in a child” campaign in eight cities: Białystok, Krasnystaw, Kraków, Lublin, Sulechów, Ryki, Warsaw and Zielona Góra. If your test results show an elevated level of cholesterol, remember that it will not change over time. The first atherosclerotic plaques begin to accumulate in the vessels of two-year-old children, and under the age of XNUMX they develop atherosclerosis, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, and significantly shortens their life. That’s why you need to act.
Source: radioklinika.pl
Good habits
A child’s high cholesterol level does not need to be medically treated. – In most people, counteracting mainly consists in changing the lifestyle – physical activity and proper diet – emphasizes prof. Bożena Werner, head of the Clinical Department of Cardiology and Pediatrics, Children’s Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Warsaw. In order for the child not to become obese, he must be physically active for 90 minutes a day. It is not much if you go to school on foot, in the afternoon cycling, rollerblading or playing football. The problem is when he drives to and from school by car, after school he sits in front of the computer, and uses a scooter instead of a bicycle. Therefore, parents of children with elevated cholesterol levels should make sure that daily physical activity is a constant habit of their children.
Juvenile diet
Doctors from the Children’s Memorial Health Institute emphasize that obesity is hereditary primarily because parents pass on bad eating habits to their offspring. 70% of unnecessary caloric luggage is the result of snacking, i.e. providing calories in addition to meals necessary for normal development. Many mothers give their children about ten meals a day instead of five, which often add extra sweetness and sweetness. The type of fat in your diet has the greatest influence on your blood cholesterol. Under the new recommendation, babies that are just 2 year old can switch to reduced-fat milk instead of full-fat milk. The level of cholesterol is increased most by saturated fats, contained mainly in animal products, but also in coconut and palm oil, often added to cookies and other sweets bought for children. According to prof. Piotr Socha from the Children’s Memorial Health Institute, the most beneficial fat in a baby’s diet is rapeseed oil. It should be an element of it from the earliest months of life, it can be consumed from the sixth month. 3 tablespoons a day cover the child’s physiological needs for omega-6 and omega-XNUMX fatty acids.
Tekst: Halina of Pilon