Poor diet, lack of physical activity and obesity are putting American teenagers at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in later life, according to new research.
Around half of the 5,000 adolescents examined as part of the study failed to meet the “ideal” standards for heart health outlined by the American Heart Association. The association has defined seven variables that are key to cardiovascular health: smoking status (never smoked); body mass index (BMI); dietary intake; physical activity; blood pressure; blood glucose; and total cholesterol.
Not a single adolescent aged 12-19 in the study met the criteria in all seven variables, according to the study published online in the journal Circulation. The study’s authors, from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre, concluded that this poor heart health behaviour in adolescents is more likely to lead to obesity and other cardiovascular problems as the population ages.
Physical activity and diet were the two variables that registered the poorest marks in the research. Fewer than 1% of all participants, male and female, achieved ideal status on diet, meaning they failed to eat healthy levels of fruit and vegetables, whole grains and salt, and sugar-sweetened drinks.
The Oklahoma researchers used data from the US National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey for 2005-10 that included 4,673 youngsters aged 12-19.
The study has recommended that there should be a greater focus on better health behaviour among younger people with more clinical and public health interventions. It has called for health promotions that increase physical activity and improve diet to get across the message that a sedentary lifestyle allied with high-calorie food will greatly increase an individual’s risk of developing heart disease as an adult.