Study: Today's teenagers may be most out-of-shape in history
By Contributor
A report from Northwestern University in Chicago looks at the status of the cardiovascular health of current adolescents in the United States, and its findings were not encouraging.
It says that teens today have a higher likelihood of dying at a younger age than today’s adults. The causes listed include high blood sugar, obesity, poor diet, smoking, and limited exercise.
Of course this is not true for all teenagers; some may be in better shape than the rest of us will ever be. However, in the case of teenage health, the lows outweigh the highs, bringing average teen health to a dismal level.
According to Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., chair and associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University and the senior investigator for the study, “We are all born with ideal cardiovascular health, but right now we are looking at the loss of that health in youth. Their future is bleak.”
The study examined the health profiles of 5,547 children and adolescents, age 12-19. The researchers used this sample group to represent the 33.1 million individuals sampled for the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys from 2003 to 2008.
The study examined cardiovascular health because it is a good barometer for the overall fitness of the adolescent. Ideal cardiovascular health, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), is defined as having the optimal levels of seven risk factors.
These factors include diet, blood sugar, weight, physical activity, cholesterol, smoking, and blood pressure.
One alarming finding is that zero children or adolescents met the AHA’s criteria for ideal cardiovascular health. Another alarming finding is that in general, girl’s cardiovascular health is worse than boys.
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