1 in 5 US Children Have High Cholesterol

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that, according to a review of federal health data compiled from 2011 to 2014, 21 percent of American children and teens have some form of abnormal cholesterol readings.

This simply means that, out of the millions of kids and adolescents in America, about 1 in 5 are more likely to have heart disease and stroke problems once they reach adulthood.

According to Live Science, the report found that, overall, about 7.4 percent of kids aged 6-19 had very high levels of cholesterol present in their body. This means that their total cholesterol levels are at 200 milligrams per deciliter or more.

The report found that obese children are more prone to have high cholesterol levels. Of all the kids in the study, only 6.3 percent of normal-weighing kids had high cholesterol levels, lower compared to obese kids of which there were 11.6 percent.

Additionally, girls were found to be more likely to have higher cholesterol levels than boys. Almost 9 percent of girls had high total cholesterol levels, while only about 6 percent of the boys had it.

The report also found that the most common cholesterol issue in kids is the unhealthily low levels of HDL “good” cholesterol in their body. Overall, about 13.4 percent of the kids had low levels of HDL cholesterol. However, the trend is worse for obese kids.

Around 33 percent of obese kids in the study had low levels of HDL cholesterol, while only about 6.8 percent of normal-weighing kids had low levels of the good kind.

HealthDay reported that experts are not surprised by the report's findings.

Dr. Michael Pettei, who co-directs preventive cardiology at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said that, based on the data, it is clear that obesity is highly responsible for a huge chunk of the abnormal cholesterol levels found in the children.

Cardiology Chief Dr. Kevin Marzo from the Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., agreed with what Dr. Pettei said. "This study confirms that preventive strategies must start in childhood, including healthy eating habits, regular exercise, and maintaining ideal body weight," he said.

The CDC recommended that parents should take an active role in preventing obesity from happening to their children. For this, balancing calorie intake from foods and beverages with a child's physical activity will greatly help.

Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested that parents should work with healthcare providers in developing healthy practices which could help their kids maintain a normal weight.