Children With High Cholesterol

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Child With High Cholesterol

It wasn't until recently that the subject of high cholesterol in children had came under the spotlight.

Now, with the dramatic increase in children becoming overweight at an early age and its associated health problems, some experts started looking into the long term implications of children with high cholesterol level.

Accumulating clinical evidence clearly concludes that atherosclerosis or the clogging of the arteries begins in childhood. It is also reported that children with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia develop heart disease in the first 10 years of life and frequently die of heart attack before 20 years of age. Therefore, if high cholesterol level runs in the family, it is only prudent to have your kids check for high cholesterol level.

What did the National Cholesterol Education Program recommended?

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has recommended that children more than two years old with high risk factors such as obesity and family history of heart disease and high cholesterol, be screened so that those with elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels can be treated.

The initial approach to treatment for these children recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) is the use of diet therapy.

The NCEP step 1 diet - This diet provides calories and nutrients that support normal growth and development, but limits saturated fat and total fat intake to no more than 10 and 30 percent of total calories, respectively, and cholesterol intake to no more than 100mg per 1000 kcal per day, to a maximum of 300 mg.

If the goal of reducing the LDL cholesterol level to below 130mg per dL (3.35mmol per L) is not achieved, the more restrictive step 2 diet should be initiated. However, the step 2 diet may not provide sufficient calories and nutrients to support normal growth and development, therefore, trained nutritionists may be required to effectively manage a child on this diet. (Am Fam Physician 2000;61:675-82,685-6).

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