Overweight kids may develop heart complications: Study
Dec 17, 2021
New Delhi, Dec 17 (ANI): According to a new study by the University of Georgia, obesity could affect badly on children's cardiovascular systems both now and down the line. The research has been published in the 'Pediatric Obesity Journal'. The study measured abdominal visceral fat levels and arterial stiffness in more than 600 children, adolescents and young adults. Visceral fat is the fat found in the abdomen that infiltrates vital organs. Arterial stiffness forces the cardiovascular system to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. The researchers found significantly higher levels of visceral fat and arterial stiffness in the overweight youth, suggesting that abdominal fat likely contributed to cardiovascular problems in kids. Studies of cardiovascular risks in youth are limited, but researchers believe that the negative changes to the cardiovascular system that lead to disease and heart attacks likely begin in childhood and adolescence. The researchers used technology known as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, to measure levels of body fat in the children.
