To keep your car running for as long as possible you have to treat it properly: service at regular intervals, use quality fuels and keep it clean.
So why would you treat your body, itself the ultimate machine, any less carefully?
Alas, too many of us do. A recent University of Miami study found that heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and artery inflammation, can start as early as age 3.
In the United States, 19 percent of children 2 to 18 are obese and 30 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“By the fourth grade, 13 percent of American children already have abnormally elevated cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 200 or higher,” said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, one of the study’s authors and the chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The numbers are disproportionately higher among Hispanic and African-American children who tended to have higher inflammation levels and lower levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.
“There are three really important pieces that go into exercising across the ages from childhood to the 90s: the need to do aerobics, strengthening and stretching exercises,” said Dr. Neva Kirk-Sanchez, an associate professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Miami.
Here, then, is a lifetime guide to good health.
Good nutrition begins at birth.
• Breast feed your newborn.
“In long-term studies, breast feeding truly does benefit children, including lowering cholesterol levels and having lower weight and a lower prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.”
The official recommendation is to breast feed baby for the first year, with breast milk the exclusive source of nourishment for the first six months.
• Limit fat to 30 percent of a child’s total calories after age 2. After age 2, switch from whole milk to non-fat milk and have your toddler drink lots of water.
• Limit fruit juices, even 100-percent fruit juices, to no more than four ounces per day for ages 2-21.
• Trans fats should be avoided and TV time should be limited to one to two hours “of quality programming” per day, he said. “Avoid ever putting a TV in a child’s bedroom.”
• Lower sodium intake. “It’s never too early to limit sodium in a child’s diet,” Lipshultz said. “Elevated blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease.”
• Begin blood pressure checks at age 3.
• Tests to screen for cholesterol should begin by age 9 to 11 and again at 17 for all children.
Children and adolescents should have at least one hour or more of physical exercise every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aerobic activity such as running, brisk walking and playing sports should make up the majority of the exercise.
Children 10 and under don’t need formal muscle strengthening programs, such as weight lifting, as the development of muscles begins at puberty, but muscle strengthening should be done via fun activities, such as playing on the jungle gym, swimming or gymnastics.
• Exercise, exercise, exercise — at least an hour daily, and include bone strengthening activities such as jumping rope and running games like tag or sports.