Kids’ cardiac threat (Spain)

Children who exercise for less than an hour a day could be at risk from heart disease in the future, according to Spanish research. One in seven of the 3,120 children who took part in the Europe-wide study were found to have higher than average blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The youngsters, aged between two and nine-years-old, were also found to have poor fitness levels and layers of fat, putting them at greater risk of health problems in later life, according to scientists at the University of Zaragoza. Meanwhile, a separate study by researchers at Newcastle University has revealed that girls exercise for an average of just 17 minutes a day, while boys were active for 24 minutes

TV in bedrooms may boost kids' risk of fat, disease (USA)

Kids who have TVs in their bedrooms are twice as likely to be fat and nearly three times as likely to be at risk for heart disease and diabetes as those who don't, according to a new study that renews concerns about health and screen time. Specifically, youngsters ages 5 to 18 who had TVs in their rooms were up to 2.5 times more likely than others to have bigger waists and more fat mass. Those who watched TV more than five hours a day were at twice the risk for fat around their internal organs, a dangerous precursor for disease. "It's really troubling to see these kids with fat around their heart and liver," said Amanda Staiano, a scientist with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. Staiano and her colleagues knew that previous studies had shown a link among bedroom TVs, longer TV viewing and being overweight or obese, which affects two-thirds of U.S. youth. But in a country where 70 percent of kids have TVs in their rooms, according to a 2010 study, Staiano said they wanted to understand exactly where the kids were adding fat, and whether they were at risk for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. "We wanted to see kind of a more precise relationship between TV and health," said Stainao, who studied 369 children and teens in Louisiana. Her findings are reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

US stroke rates 'rising in young'

More children and young adults in the US are having strokes - with unhealthy lifestyles being a likely cause, scientists have said. Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysed hospital data on up to eight million patients a year between 1995 and 2008. In Annals of Neurology, they say stroke rates in five to 44-year-olds rose by about a third in under 10 years. Higher blood pressure, diabetes and obesity were common in stroke patients

Heart Healthy Children & Youth - Saskatchewan

Heart Healthy Children & Youth is the Heart and Stroke Foundation's response to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, inactivity and other lifestyle choices that are putting Saskatchewan children at risk. This is a province-wide initiative aiming to inspire individuals, families, communities, businesses and governments to take collective action to help children become more physically active, eat healthier foods and be smoke-free. Canadian children may be among the first generation to have a shorter less healthy lifespan than their parents. Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 25 years and 29.1 per cent of Saskatchewan children are considered overweight or obese. At the same time, children are less active. According to Active Healthy Kids Canada, only 15 per cent of Saskatchewan children meet recommended levels for physical activity. And smoking rates among Saskatchewan youth are significantly higher than elsewhere in Canada, even among children as young as grade six.

To get involved, contact the Community Action Coordinator in your area at 1-888-473-4636 (toll-free):

* Candace Bloomquist, Central Saskatchewan bloomquistc@hsf.sk.ca
* Bill Ursel, South Saskatchewan urselb@hsf.sk.ca

Simple device helps detect baby heart defects (UK)

Experts are calling for a simple piece of equipment that has been in most hospitals for years to be used on all newborn babies to help detect life-threatening heart defects. A major trial conducted in British hospitals has discovered that using pulse oximeters, a device which measures blood oxygen levels, dramatically increases the chance of identifying major heart faults. The simple, pain-free test has a detection rate of 92% when combined with traditional baby checks. Every year in Britain more than 5,000 babies are born with heart defects and, in the developed world, they are one of the leading causes of infant deaths - Sky News

Couch potato six year olds already showing signs of ill health

Children as young as six who spend a lot of time in front of the television or using a computer are already showing early signs of heart disease and high blood pressure, claims study. Researchers found that every extra hour in front of a screen could be correlated with a 10 per cent increase in blood pressure later in life. The scientists discovered that children who spent more time watching television had narrower arteries at the back of their eyes – a marker of future cardiovascular disease risk. Results also showed that children who spent an hour or more each day outside playing had "significantly" wider arteries than those who spent 30 minutes or less doing the same. The retinal arteries of children who did the most physical activity were found to be 2.2 thousandth of a millimetre wider on average than those who had the most "screen time". Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia, looked at 1,492 six and seven year-old kids at 34 primary schools across Sydney. The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the journal of the American Heart Association

Diabetes and virus link confirmed (Australia)

"Children with Type 1 diabetes are nearly 10 times as likely to also have a viral infection than healthy children, Australian research suggests. Childhood diabetes has been linked to enteroviruses, which can lead to cold, flu and even meningitis. However the review of 26 existing studies by a group in Australia, published in the BMJ, does not prove that the virus causes diabetes. Diabetes UK said more research was needed to pinpoint the cause of Type 1. The illness typically appears in childhood, when the pancreas stops producing the hormone insulin and the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood"

Heart problems are a silent killer of children (USA)

"Nearly 300 Michiganders younger than 40 die each year of sudden cardiac death, with African-American males dying at 2 1/2 times the rate of others. The Michigan Department of Community Health, which completed a study last year looking into the deaths, is now turning to parents and schools to help prevent others. Although sudden cardiac death is not limited to athletes, one of the department's efforts is aimed at high school athletes. Officials say some risks for cardiac arrest can be detected with more thorough screenings of athletes or a deeper examination of genetic history, said Debra Duquette, who directed the review for the health department"

Children's New Cardiovascular Center (Minnesota)

"Children's New Cardiovascular Center (Minnesota, USA). A national leader in pediatric cardiovascular care. Now with world-class facilities. Our commitment to providing the best pediatric cardiac care is enhanced with the opening of our world-class cardiovascular center, the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest, in April 2010, offering patients and their families the highest level of pediatric cardiac care"

Secondhand smoke ups teen vessel damage (Finland)

Exposure to secondhand smoke has been linked to an increased risk of hardened arteries in 13-year-olds, researchers in Finland said. The study, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, associated higher levels of exposure to secondhand smoke between the ages of 8-13 to a significant increase by age 13 of blood vessel wall thickness and vessel functioning problems - both precursors to hardened arteries. The researchers also found greater exposure to tobacco smoke associated to another risk factor for heart disease - higher levels of apolipoprotein B - a component of low-density lipoprotein or LDL, the "bad" cholesterol. "Although previous research has found that passive smoke may be harmful for blood vessels among adults, we did not know until this study that these specific effects also happen among children and adolescents," lead author Dr. Katariina Kallio of the University of Turku said in a statement. The study participants - 494 children - had been recruited as infants beginning in 1990 into Finland's ongoing prospective randomized Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project, which aims to lower children's risks of heart disease by controlling their exposure to known environmental dangers

Hospital suspends heart surgery after child deaths (UK)

An Oxford hospital has suspended child cardiac surgery pending the results of an external investigation into the deaths of four children over the past three months. Twenty six children are awaiting heart surgery at the hospital. Those who need urgent treatment will be offered operations elsewhere. A hospital statement said the four children had been "very sick." It read: "Paediatric cardiac surgery outcomes are nationally validated and the data is published. Oxford has been within normal outcome ranges." The statement added that it was "right that we take a pause while we look in to the individual cases, to see if there is anything to learn from them." The four children had congenital heart problems and had been receiving care at the hospital before their operations." - Reuters

Obese children show signs of heart disease

Obese children as young as three years old show signs of future heart disease, say US researchers. A study of 16,000 children and teenagers showed the most obese had signs of an inflammatory marker which can predict future heart disease. In all, 40% of obese three-to-five-year olds had raised levels of C-reactive protein compared with 17% of healthy weight children, Pediatrics reported. But more work is needed to prove the link with heart disease in later life. The study, carried out by a team at the University of North Carolina (UNC), looked at children aged one to 17. Overall, nearly 70% were a healthy weight, 15% were overweight, 11% were obese and 3.5% were very obese. In the older age groups, the proportion of those in the very obese category with high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) increased even further. By age 15-17, 83% of the very obese had increased CRP compared with 18% of the healthy weight children - BBC

Grandparents who care for children 'boost obesity risk' (UK)

"Young children who are regularly looked after by their grandparents have an increased risk of being overweight, an extensive British study has suggested. Analysis of 12,000 three-year olds suggested the risk was 34% higher if grandparents cared for them full time. Children who went to nursery or had a childminder had no increased risk of weight problems, the International Journal of Obesity reported. Nearly a quarter of preschool children in the UK are overweight or obese. The researchers said very little research had been done on the influence of childcare on weight. Yet childcare may have an effect on weight through diet and physical activity. The study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which looked at the health of children aged between nine months and three years old, who had been born in the UK between 2000 and 2001" - BBC

Artificial pancreas hope for children with diabetes (UK)

Scientists in Cambridge have shown that an "artificial pancreas" can be used to regulate blood sugar in children with Type 1 diabetesc. A trial found that combining a "real time" sensor measuring glucose levels with a pump that delivers insulin can boost overnight blood sugar control. The Lancet study showed the device significantly cut the risk of blood sugar levels dropping dangerously low. Experts said the results were an important "step forward". Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life threatening condition, in which the pancreas does not produce insulin - the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels - BBC

Blood pressure harm from smoke 'may explain cot death'

Smoke exposure during pregnancy damages a baby's blood pressure control, which may explain why such babies' risk of cot death is higher, say experts. Maternal smoking remains one of the biggest risk factors for cot death. A team at Sweden's Karolinksa Institute found smoke-exposed babies had abnormal surges in blood pressure, even when sleeping undisturbed in their cots. These surges put extra demand on the heart, making it pump faster and harder, the journal Hypertension says. The study suggests damage to the circulation may be a factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), although it set out to look at the effects of smoking on the newborn rather than cot death per se - BBC

Plate weighing device 'can curb childhood obesity'

"A talking, computerised weighing device that tracks how quickly food is gobbled off the plate could be a solution to childhood obesity, researchers say. The Mandometer keeps tabs during meal times and tells the user if they are wolfing down meals too fast - a habit experts have linked to weight gain. In a trial with 106 obese children the gadget showed promising results, the British Medical Journal reports online. After 12 months of use the children weighed less and ate smaller portions. Their speed of eating was reduced by 11% compared with a gain of 4% in a comparison group" - BBC

Missing DNA linked to obesity in children

"A recent study suggests that childhood obesity may be linked to missing DNA. British researchers found that the rare occurrence of missing DNA segments may lead to severe obesity in children, because it affects a gene used by the brain for appetite control. Dr. Sadaf Farooqi of Cambridge University, who co-authored the study, is quoted in the report as stating that children with a chromosome 16 deletion, 'have a very strong drive to eat… They're very, very hungry, they always want to eat.' As noted by the AP, research on the deletion of chromosome 16 has helped in two cases where parents were accused by the British child welfare authorities of overfeeding their children, who were subsequently found to lack the missing DNA. Farooqi is quoted in the report as stating of the cases, 'It's a slightly unusual outcome of our research, but one we think is very important.' More information about the study findings may be found in the recent online publication of the Nature journal"

Couch kids - the nation's future (British Heart Foundation)

"Four years on from our first 'Couch Kids' report into childhood obesity and children still aren't getting the diet or exercise they need. Our new report shows that despite efforts to get kids more active, a disturbingly high number of young people across the UK aren't reaching the target of 60 minutes physical activity each day. In England for example, 15% of boys and 19% of girls aren't even achieving 30 minutes a day. Urgent action is needed to ensure that children are able to make healthy choices, this action must involve:

* raising awareness of the importance of physical activity
* providing a range of opportunities to get active
* consideration of the barriers to getting active, and
* reducing health inequalities"

Why aren't more children walking or biking to school, Heart and Stroke Foundation researchers ask

In Canada, more than half of children aged 5 to 17 get to school by car or bus, a fact that could be contributing to the inactive lifestyle that is linked to rising rates of childhood obesity and early heart problems. Heart and Stroke Foundation-funded researchers, Drs. Guy Faulkner and Ron Buliung at the University of Toronto, are conducting three studies aimed at finding out how they can increase the number of children walking or riding their bikes to school. Their first study will aim to find out what influences parents' decisions about how their kids travel to and from school in the Greater Toronto Area. Their second study will look at the way streets are organized and sidewalks are used, a concept known as the built environment, to find out how that contributes to choices around school transportation. They will then expand the study out across the province"

Children need hour of daily exercise to cut cardiac risk

"Children should be active for at least one hour every day, and have no more than two hours of sedentary time during the same time period, if they are to be protected from developing heart disease later in life, according to medical and exercise experts. The advice comes ahead of World Heart Day on September 27, which aims to raise global awareness that reducing childhood obesity is essential to reducing the risk of heart disease in adulthood"