Study: Even moderately overweight kids at risk for later health problems

Cleveland doctors say a study showing that even moderately overweight children face significantly higher risks of heart disease in adulthood is a "wakeup call" that should spark prevention and public education efforts like those done to increase seat-belt use and limit tobacco. (Source: "Cleveland doctors see evidence of obese kids' ill health," Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dec. 6, 2007.) According to the study, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, a 13-year-old boy weighing 24 pounds above average had a 33% higher risk of suffering a cardiac event such as heart attack before age 60. "Another U.S. study in the journal used a mathematical model to predict that by 2035, the prevalence of coronary disease will increase by as much as 16% (100,000 cases) due to obesity among today's youths."