Obese Kids Have Artery Plaque

(November 12, 2008) - You've heard the expression "old before their time." That may be the case of obese children. (Read about "Obesity") The neck arteries of obese children and teens look more like those of 45-year-olds, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

Researchers used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the inner walls of the neck (carotid) arteries that supply blood to the brain. Increasing carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) indicates the fatty buildup of plaque within arteries feeding the heart muscle and the brain, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. (Read about "Heart Attack" "Stroke")

Investigators calculated CIMT in 34 boys and 36 girls who were "at-risk," (average age 13, 89 percent white) and found:

• These children had abnormal levels of one or more types of cholesterol - elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is known as "bad cholesterol;" low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is the "good cholesterol;" or high triglyceride levels. (Read about "Cholesterol")
• Forty (57 percent) had a body mass index (BMI, a calculation of weight for height) above the 95th percentile. (Read about "Body Mass Index")

Their average CIMT was 0.45 millimeters (mm), with a maximum of 0.75 mm.

The children's "vascular age" - the age at which the level of thickening would be normal for their gender and race - was about 30 years older than their actual age, Geetha Raghuveer, M.D., M.P.H., one of the researchers said.

"There's a saying that 'you're as old as your arteries,' meaning that the state of your arteries is more important than your actual age in the evolution of heart disease and stroke," said Geetha Raghuveer, M.D., M.P.H. "We found that the state of the arteries in these children is more typical of a 45-year-old than of someone their own age."

The children were deemed at high risk for future heart disease because of obesity, abnormal cholesterol, and/or a family history of early heart disease. (Read about "Family Health History" "Coronary Heart Disease")