Heart Disease Risks Hit Boys in Teens

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One possible lesson of the study is that it is never too early to start protective measures against heart disease, said Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, chairman of the department of pediatrics at the University of Colorado.

"Studies have used autopsies of young people who died in accidents to show that by the late teens, the kind of lesions we know cause heart attacks and strokes are in the process of developing," Daniels said. "So, in some ways, our best opportunity to prevent heart disease is to look at children and adolescents and start the preventive process early."

Fighting obesity in the years before adulthood is essential, he said. "Some changes that occur may be due to what is built into the difference between the sexes," he said. "But if you add overweight and obesity, you can increase risk through that mechanism."

More information

Facts about childhood obesity are available from the U.S. Surgeon General.