Elevated Cholesterol in Children
Overview
An elevated cholesterol level can negatively impact your child's health, increasing his chance of developing heart disease or stroke later in life. The Kids Health website from Nemours reports that the dramatic increase in childhood obesity puts more and more children at risk of developing these health problems. Controlling your child's diet and using medication when necessary can help lower your child's cholesterol to a safe level.
Identification
Cholesterol is a type of fat called a lipid that the liver produces. Cholesterol combines with proteins to form lipoproteins. Lipoproteins circulate through your bloodstream, helping to form hormones and the membranes of your body's cells. High-density lipoproteins, also referred to as "good" cholesterol, move cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver.
Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the type of cholesterol that causes elevated cholesterol levels. If your child has too much low-density lipoproteins, or "bad" cholesterol, in her bloodstream, cholesterol can build up on the walls of the arteries that lead to the heart and brain, according to Kids Health. When cholesterol builds up on artery walls, it hardens into plaque, a substance that causes vessels to stiffen or narrow.
Learn your Omega-3 Index OmegaBrite's Omega-3 Index gives you control over your health www.omegabrite.com
Sponsored Links
Risk Factors
Your child may be at increased risk of developing an elevated cholesterol level if he is obese and fails to get enough exercise or eats a diet that is high in trans and saturated fats. The tendency to develop high cholesterol can also be inherited. The Cleveland Clinic reports that in most cases, children with high cholesterol have a parent who also has elevated cholesterol.
Elevated Levels
A total cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL of blood or higher is considered high. If a child's level falls in this range, your doctor may recommend a follow-up blood test to determine the high- and low-density lipoprotein levels. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics an LDL-cholesterol level between 110 to 129 mg/dL is borderline, while a level of 130 mg/dL or higher indicates that your child has high LDL cholesterol.
Considerations
Your doctor may recommend that your child be tested for an elevated cholesterol level if you have high cholesterol, your child is overweight or smokes, or if there is a family history of heart disease. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening children whose parents or grandparents had such conditions as a heart attack, peripheral vascular disease, sudden cardiac death or angina pectoris before the age of 55.
Making Dietary Changes
Changing your child's diet may be helpful in lowering your child's cholesterol level. According to the Cleveland Clinic, consumption of fat should be limited to 30 percent or less of your child's daily total calories if your child is over age two. Increasing fruits and vegetables in your child's diet, offering low-fat milk and using olive oil, canola oil and other types of unsaturated fats to prepare meals may help in lowering an elevated cholesterol level.
Using Medication
Medication is only prescribed if your child has a high cholesterol level that doesn't change after diet modification. Cholesterol-reducing medications should be considered for children who are older than eight and have high LDL levels, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy recommends that younger patients should focus on weight reduction and increased activity while receiving nutritional counseling.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/
Overview
An elevated cholesterol level can negatively impact your child's health, increasing his chance of developing heart disease or stroke later in life. The Kids Health website from Nemours reports that the dramatic increase in childhood obesity puts more and more children at risk of developing these health problems. Controlling your child's diet and using medication when necessary can help lower your child's cholesterol to a safe level.
Identification
Cholesterol is a type of fat called a lipid that the liver produces. Cholesterol combines with proteins to form lipoproteins. Lipoproteins circulate through your bloodstream, helping to form hormones and the membranes of your body's cells. High-density lipoproteins, also referred to as "good" cholesterol, move cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver.
Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the type of cholesterol that causes elevated cholesterol levels. If your child has too much low-density lipoproteins, or "bad" cholesterol, in her bloodstream, cholesterol can build up on the walls of the arteries that lead to the heart and brain, according to Kids Health. When cholesterol builds up on artery walls, it hardens into plaque, a substance that causes vessels to stiffen or narrow.
Learn your Omega-3 Index OmegaBrite's Omega-3 Index gives you control over your health www.omegabrite.com
Sponsored Links
Risk Factors
Your child may be at increased risk of developing an elevated cholesterol level if he is obese and fails to get enough exercise or eats a diet that is high in trans and saturated fats. The tendency to develop high cholesterol can also be inherited. The Cleveland Clinic reports that in most cases, children with high cholesterol have a parent who also has elevated cholesterol.
Elevated Levels
A total cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL of blood or higher is considered high. If a child's level falls in this range, your doctor may recommend a follow-up blood test to determine the high- and low-density lipoprotein levels. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics an LDL-cholesterol level between 110 to 129 mg/dL is borderline, while a level of 130 mg/dL or higher indicates that your child has high LDL cholesterol.
Considerations
Your doctor may recommend that your child be tested for an elevated cholesterol level if you have high cholesterol, your child is overweight or smokes, or if there is a family history of heart disease. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening children whose parents or grandparents had such conditions as a heart attack, peripheral vascular disease, sudden cardiac death or angina pectoris before the age of 55.
Making Dietary Changes
Changing your child's diet may be helpful in lowering your child's cholesterol level. According to the Cleveland Clinic, consumption of fat should be limited to 30 percent or less of your child's daily total calories if your child is over age two. Increasing fruits and vegetables in your child's diet, offering low-fat milk and using olive oil, canola oil and other types of unsaturated fats to prepare meals may help in lowering an elevated cholesterol level.
Using Medication
Medication is only prescribed if your child has a high cholesterol level that doesn't change after diet modification. Cholesterol-reducing medications should be considered for children who are older than eight and have high LDL levels, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy recommends that younger patients should focus on weight reduction and increased activity while receiving nutritional counseling.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment