Comorbidities of Childhood Obesity
Obesity-associated chronic disease risk factors are present in adults and also manifest in overweight and obese children. For example, data from the Bogalusa Heart Study showed that ;60% of overweight 5- to 10-year-old children had one cardiovascular risk factor, such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, or elevated insulin levels (12). From the same cohort of 5- to 10-year-olds, .20% of overweight children had two or more cardiovascular risk factors (12)—risk factors that would increase substantially the risk of these individuals for earlier cardiovascular disease if they were tracked into adulthood.