Heart disease is the UK's biggest killer of middle-aged people, but new research suggests
that the new generation of primary school children could be at risk by young
adulthood.
Scientists at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam found that around
two-thirds of severely obese children who are under the age of 12 have at least
one symptom of cardiovascular disease.
They revealed that more than half of these had high blood pressure, 14 per cent
had high fasting blood sugar levels, while just under one per cent had type 2 diabetes.
Doireann Maddock, the British Heart Foundation's senior cardiac nurse, said
despite the study population being quite small, the findings were a "huge
concern".
Obesity is a growing problem in the UK and the NHS Information Centre recently
reported that 8,087 weight-loss stomach surgeries were performed in 2010-11.
This figure marks a 12 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
© Adfero Ltd
Heart treatment news : 28 July 2012
