Obese children as young as eight years old can show signs of heart disease, placing some at “high risk”, according to a new study out of the U.S.
Using imaging tests researchers found obese children to show signs of “significant heart disease and heart muscle abnormalities”, when compared to normal-weight children.
Obesity was found to be linked to 27 per cent more muscle mass in the left ventricle of the heart and 12 per cent thicker heart muscles — both considered signs of heart disease.
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Forty per cent of the obese children were considered to be “high risk” due to the thickened muscle being associated with impaired pumping ability. While none of the children showed physical symptoms, the researchers caution that heart problems at a young age can lead to health complications in adulthood.
“Parents should be highly motivated to help their children maintain a healthy weight,” lead author Linyuan Jing, Ph.D., said in the study.
“Ultimately we hope that the effects we see in the hearts of these children are reversible; however, it is possible that there could be permanent damage. This should be further motivation for parents to help children lead a healthy lifestyle.”
Rates of childhood obesity are at peak levels in the United States and Canada, though they have largely plateaued in the last decade. Obesity rates for children and adolescents, ranging in age from three to 19, hover around 13 per cent in Canada and 17.5 per cent in the U.S.
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A child is considered obese when they are in the gender-specific 95th percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) for children their age.
For the study researchers compared 20 obese children with 20 children of normal weight. Researchers excluded children with diabetes and those who were too large to fit in the magnetic resonance imaging machine, which was used to measure the function and size of their hearts. The omissions led researchers to conclude the incidence of heart disease may be even higher.
“The actual burden of heart disease in obese children may have been underestimated in our study because the largest kids who may have been the most severely affected could not be enrolled,” Jing said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada states on its website that the country is “facing an obesity epidemic” with one in four children and youths are considered to be overweight or obese.
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Obese children are more likely to develop a range of health problems including type-2 diabetes, sleep apnea and other breathing problems, bone and joint problems, and high blood pressure. Emotional issues, including low self-esteem and depression, can also plague severely overweight children.
The health agency recommends healthy eating, including eating meals together as a family, and physical activity to help children maintain a healthy weight.
While researchers noted that not all obese children showed signs of heart disease, Jing called the results “alarming.”
“Understanding the long-term ramifications of this will be critical as we deal with the impact of the pediatric obesity epidemic.”
The research was recently presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2015.
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