In the News

Since first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity her signature project almost two years ago, the issue has had the kind of highly visible national leadership that it previously lacked.

But that isn’t enough, say public health leaders frustrated with the slow progress in stemming America’s obesity epidemic.

One in 500 kids has an inherited disorder that causes high levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol that may require medication to control. However, since the problem doesn’t create observable symptoms, as many as half of these kids don’t know they have the condition. To help identify these children, late last year an expert panel convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommended that all children be screened for high cholesterol, once between the ages of 9 and 11 and again between ages 17 and 21.

by Patti Neighmond

July 28, 2010 via npr.org

The health effects of being overweight or obese are well documented. Extra pounds add extra risk for diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers, even among children. But new research also documents significant social and economic consequences of being overweight since high school.