Frequent dining out can harm children’s health
Frequent dining out can harm children’s health
By


[CaRP] Failed to open file:

[CaRP] Can't open remote newsfeed [-1].

Newsfeed display by CaRP IF WE THINK we’re showing our children love and affection by frequently dining out with them, we should think twice. We may be exposing them to a higher risk of developing heart disease.

A paper presented in the ongoing scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in this city showed that children who ate at restaurants four or more times per week developed a higher cardiovascular risk than children who ate out less frequently.

Karen Olson of the Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation in Wisconsin, reported that these children were found to have significantly higher average blood pressure, lower levels of HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol), and a higher level of LDL-cholesterol, which is of the small dense type, proven to be highly atherogenic and capable of occluding the body’s arteries.

Children who frequently dined out also had lower insulin sensitivity scores making them prone to develop diabetes.

Olson’s study included 621 elementary students residing in Wausau, Wisconsin. They were asked to fill out diet and exercise surveys. Twenty percent ate out frequently. A lunch eaten in the school cafeteria was not considered as eating out.

The weight or body mass index did not differ significantly between the two groups of children, but the children in the frequently dining-out group were found to have an overall higher intake of food containing starch, sugar, sodium, fat and cholesterol. Excessive intake of these food components is deemed unhealthy.

Children who ate out frequently were also found to be significantly less active, spending an average of 3.6 hours of their waking time daily doing nothing.

Unhealthy lifestyle
Olson and the other investigators stressed that the differences in the two groups could not be solely attributed to their frequent eating out. It’s likely that the children who ate out frequently had an entirely different lifestyle, which is speculated to be less healthy than those who ate out less frequently.

We’re in the fast food era and it’s well known that many items sold in fast-food restaurants contain a lot of trans-fats that can have disastrous effects on the cardiovascular system in the long-term. Coupled with other unhealthy lifestyle practices, this is a sure-fire formula for a cardiovascular disaster.

This could be the reason heart attack and stroke patients are getting younger and younger over the years. There was a time when only middle-aged adults and the elderly developed cardiovascular complications. Today, we’re seeing more and more patients in their 20s or early 30s being rushed to emergency rooms.

The study by Olson’s group is by no means conclusive. Further large-scale studies need to be done to validate their observations. But definitely, this should be a wakeup call for parents and healthcare givers to look more closely on the health habits of children. We should dismiss the notion that children can still afford to eat unhealthy foods because their blood vessels don’t get occluded. Nothing can be further from the truth.
del.icio.us

Rating:


0/5 based on 0 votes. The median rating is 0.

Submitted: 06/06/06

Description: A paper presented in the ongoing scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in this city showed that children who ate at restaurants four or more times per week developed a higher cardiovascular risk than children who ate out less frequently.

Views: 291 views. Averaging 0 per day.
In the most recent 30 day period, there've been 7 views.

Related Articles:

Free Sitemap Generator