Initiating healthful lifestyle "training" in childhood to reduce risk of coronary heart disease later in life is a key principle behind new guidelines published in the July 1 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).
Helping children visualize a "healthy plate" of food (one half-filled with salad and vegetables, one-fourth with a starch, and one-fourth with a protein), be physically active, and remain smoke-free are fundamental parts of establishing lifelong heart health, said the AHA in announcing its new childhood guidelines.
For physicians, they suggest a variety of tests and interventions, such as cholesterol screening for 2- to 5-year-old children of parents with high cholesterol, educating families about the medical complications of obesity, and teaching young children that smoking is a harmful and addictive behavior.
