Obesity in kids can already cause serious heart damage, and according to a new study, it can happen to those who are as young as eight years old.
The study, which was presented last Tuesday at the American Heart Association' Scientific Sessions event in Orlando, Florida held last Nov. 7–11, was conducted by researchers at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania.
Researchers looked into 20 obese children and compared them to 20 normal weight children. The study found that 40 percent of obese kids had a high risk of developing heart disease compared to the other group.
Specifically, imaging scans revealed that these children had thickened heart muscles and more muscle mass, which can cause the heart to pump inefficiently, eventually leading to heart damage.
"It is both surprising and alarming to us that even the youngest obese children in our study who were eight years old had evidence of heart disease," said lead author Linyuan Jing, according to WebMD.
Some of the children involved in the study also had other common diseases such as high blood pressure, depression, and asthma. Although imaging scans found there was heart damage, none of the children reported symptoms suggesting a heart disease, which include fatigue and shortness of breath, according to Jing.
Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a University of California, Los Angeles cardiology professor who was not part of the study, warned that the damage to the heart can "significantly" contribute to the risk of heart failure and even premature death in obese kids.
The study didn't include those obese kids suffering from diabetes because they couldn't fit inside the scanning machine, which only suggests that the study was not able to find how extensive the burden may be.
Researchers are now calling out to parents to step up and do something about this medical problem. "This should be further motivation for parents to help children lead a healthy lifestyle," she said, adding that parents should also choose healthier decisions by buying them healthy food instead of letting them eat at fast food chains and consume low fiber, high sugar meals.
