The heart of the smaller, endangered

If the trend is not reversed, the biggest enemy of future generations could be your own heart. U.S. research has again shown that rather than helping them to grow, the smaller habits contribute inexorably to the degradation of their cardiovascular health.

According to his data, which were obtained from a study of over 5,000 boys aged 12 to 19 years, children miserably suspended from the seven criteria usually used to measure the health of the heart.

Without doubt, the worst subject is diet : almost all of the children studied did not meet the standards of what is considered a balanced diet and age appropriate (taking at least four and a half servings of fruits and vegetables a day, in the daily menu include a good dose of whole grains, eat fish more than twice a week, do not overdo the salt and turn on an occasional drink soft drinks ).

But in addition, only 16.4% of males and 11.3% of the females 'satisfied' with the set of six criteria, including factors such as weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and glucose, smoking or physical activity.

In fact, more than half of those surveyed recognized not exercising regularly and between 10% and 20% admitted to never practice any physical activity.

"In this country, practically all of us are born with an ideal cardiovascular health, but quickly lose it," said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal ' Donald Lloyd-Jones, a researcher at Northwestern University (USA) and main author of the research, which is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The disturbing figures have been presented this week at the meeting of the American Heart Association held in Orlando. The alarm of cardiologists joins the recently issued American pediatricians who have recommended routine cholesterol checks among the smallest.

The study focused only in the U.S., but data from our country are equally worrisome . The latest available data speak of obesity continues to rise among children and warned that one in two children weighing more than what would correspond to their age. Moreover, problems such as hypertension or diabetes type 2-exclusive adult-only a few decades ago are becoming more common in pediatric consultations.