Obesity in children even more dangerous than previously thought

According to an article in ReutersHealth, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine of obese children suggests that overweight and obese children are even more likely than previously thought to be at risk for serious complications such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease:

"Obesity [in children] is not a cosmetic issue and preventive measures ought to be implemented to stop further weight gain," said Caprio, who is at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. . . .

Almost 39 percent of moderately obese children and almost 50 percent of the severely obese were classified as having the metabolic syndrome. The higher a child's body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height - the greater was the risk of the metabolic syndrome. . . .

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that often precedes type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Signs of the metabolic syndrome include abdominal obesity, high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, low levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.