Until recently, high cholesterol in a child and the resulting atherosclerotic changes were rare. Today, this problem affects more and more children, and cases of atherosclerosis occur even in several-year-olds. Why is this happening? How to protect your own child from high cholesterol?

High cholesterol in childrenstopped being a surprise for doctors and more and more often they order it to be tested in the youngest. Why iselevated cholesterolso dangerous?

In the catalog of diseases that most often kill people in their forties, atherosclerosis is one of the first places. This is not something to be taken lightly, because atherosclerosis is the cause of heart attacks and strokes, as a result of which every second man and every third woman in their prime dies.

The average parent therefore does not understand what experts have recently found. In some children, as early as 2 years of age, cholesterol deposits in the walls of the arteries, forming the so-called atherosclerosis, and a few years later - even before the 10th birthday - atherosclerosis begins to develop.

High cholesterol in a child: risk written in genes

It is true that the risk of early development of atherosclerosis concerns mainly children who inherited a tendency to elevated cholesterol from their ancestors. This can be assessed with the naked eye, because in the child's eyes and in other places on the skin, so-called Yellow tufts, or hard yellowish lumps, which are nothing but cholesterol that has accumulated under the skin. But it's not just genes to blame.

Cholesterol in children, as in adults, is increased by lack of exercise and a diet rich in animal products: red meat, offal, pates, sausages, head cheese and egg yolks.

Children who are obese or overweight, who suffer from diabetes, have high blood pressure, and children whose relatives (grandparents or parents) had a heart attack or a stroke earlier than provide for age norms, i.e. women under 65, and men under 55. Finally, a risk factor is also high levels of total cholesterol in parents - high, i.e. above 240 mg / dL.

Levelcholesterol in children: a simple study

Fortunately, the negative consequences of elevated cholesterol can be prevented. It is worth examining the level of this lipid in the child - in children at risk it can be done from the age of three, while in others - from the ninth birthday. The first step is always to visit a pediatrician who, based on a family interview and the so-called A point test (a type of questionnaire) will assess whether your child is at risk of hereditary hypercholesterolaemia and then order the appropriate tests. Only on the basis of the analysis of their results, further actions can be taken.

For the test result to be reliable, it should be performed on a he althy child, preferably in the morning, and be on an empty stomach. The last meal can be eaten 12 hours before the examination - e.g. a light dinner at 6.00 p.m. - it can be a sandwich with cottage cheese, cucumber or tomato. You have to give up eggs, sausages, cheese, mayonnaise.

How to lower cholesterol in a child: diet and exercise

The safest way to lower cholesterol in a child is to use a properly composed diet. It should be dominated by vegetable fats, vegetables, fruits, foods rich in fiber (e.g. dark grain bread), lean meat, low-fat dairy products, legume dishes.

We limit red meat (it is enough to serve it two or three times a month), as well as fatty cheeses, cream, offal or sausages, products rich in trans fats (they include them, e.g. fast food, chips, crackers, biscuits, cookies) and white sugar. Cholesterol levels can also be reduced through physical activity, so it's worth encouraging your kids to do sports.

These products are especially dangerous to your he alth!

Important

In children at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, treatment should be started if their blood LDL cholesterol level is above 190 mg / dL, in children with a positive family history - if it is above 160 mg / dL, and in children with diabetes - when it exceeds 130 mg / dl (in their case the optimal level of LDL is below 110 mg / dl).

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Child's he alth