Strollerderby : cholesterol

They Say: Our Kids Are Developing a (Legal) Drug Habit

JeanneSager — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:35:00 GMT

Either kids are getting sicker or doctors are pill happy. A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatrics says prescriptions for kids with chronic health problems jumped by more than one hundred percent over a three-year period.

Kids aged five through nineteen who suffer from type two diabetes (so-called adult onset diabetes) took one hundred three percent more medications in 2005 than they did in 2002. Prescriptions for kids in the same agre group went up by forty-six and a half percent for kids with asthma, forty percent for ADD and ADHD and fifteen percent for cholesterol treatments. Although the latter number isn't nearly as high as that of the diabetes jump, both stand out for their mere presence in the younger population. Until childhood obesity became buzzwords in pediatric circles, type two diabetes and cholesterol issues were highly regarded as "adult" issues.

The study's author says behavior modifications can have a major impact on most of the chronic diseases studied, but whether doctors are counseling their patients on making the changes - and whether kids are listening - will make the difference in kids' health. Do you feel like your pediatrician's become a drug pusher? Or are kids just getting diagnosed better?

Source: Los Angeles Times

Image: More4Kids

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The unhealthiest food ever

Brett Singer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Are you ready to be nauseous?

This item – canned pork brains in milk gravy – has a whopping 3500mg of cholesterol. That's 1170% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance. OVER ONE THOUSAND PERCENT.

For comparisons sake, let's look at some other cholesterol-laden foodstuffs:

McDonald's Breakfast Items

Sausage Burrito and orange juice: 130 mg, or 43% of the U.S.R.D.A.
Egg McMuffin and orange juice: 260 mg, or 87% of the U.S.R.D.A. (that damn orange juice! It'll getcha every time.)

The poster who put the pork brains label up on digg calls it "Instant Heart Attack." I got chest pains just reading it.

Source: Digg

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They Say: Don't Eat Your Veggies!

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:31:00 GMT

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton is about to become your kids’ new hero. In today’s New York Times Well Blog, he colorfully answers readers' questions about their children’s health, and gets the ball rolling with a firm admonition against vegetables.

Forget about veggies, he says. Battling your child to eat any particular food will only backfire in extended dietary struggles throughout your kid’s childhood. Buy a multivitamin for those picky eating years, and save yourself and your kids some headaches.

If you do feel like getting creative, Dr. Brazelton suggests Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook. But he cautions against getting bent out of shape over any dietary experiments with your kids. Instead, he says, “keep mealtimes relaxing and enjoyable, and focus talk on fun things, but not on food.”

For Dr. Bazelton’s advice on Vitamin D supplements, low cholesterol diets, and calorie counts, visit the Well Blog.

The Family Who Pops Pills Together, Stays Together

Adrienne Martini — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations that set off a storm of virtual outrage all over the blogosphere. Did the AAP hit on a hot topic like breastfeeding an 8-year old or co-sleeping with a newborn? No. The topic at hand involved a pharmaceutical that many take every day.

The AAP recommended giving cholesterol-lowering drugs to kids over the age of 8 who fall into certain risk profiles.

The big question on many folks' minds involves the close relationship between doctors and drug companies. While that it is a pungent rind on which to chew, the greater issue seems to be the lack of proof that these drugs function in the same way in kids that they do in adults and whether or not their ingestion will have the desired effect. Does a kid with lower cholesterol have a decreased risk of developing heart disease? We simply don't know.

For a round-up of all of arguments, look here. And for one pediatrician's take, look here.

Illo: Kim Scafuro