In the News - Cholesterol Drugs Recommended for Some 8-Year-Olds

I saw this article on ABC News: Cholesterol Drugs Recommended for Some 8-Year-Olds. It had the tag line: "Cholesterol tests for 1 year olds?" and that caught my eye since Willow will be 1 year old in a little over 2 months.

Apparently, "For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing."

According to the AAP Press Release, the Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity released 22 recommendations for health care professionals who provide obesity care to apply in their practices for the management of overweight and obese children. You can see the complete list of recommendations here.

2 things. First, why is it that everything has to be treated with pills here in America? I know that's not really the case, but sometimes it seems like it. Drugs are supposed to be a last resort, yet you have doctors that prescribe them and patients asking for them like they are candy. Secondly, I understand that obesity in children is on the rise but drugs aren't going to change peoples' lifestyle.

According to the article, Because obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and often is accompanied by cholesterol problems, the academy recommendations say low-fat milk is appropriate for 1-year-olds "for whom overweight or obesity is a concern."

Dr. Stephen Daniels of the academy's nutrition committee, a pediatrician in the Denver area, agreed that could include virtually all children. But he said doctors may choose to offer the new milk advice only to 1-year-olds who are already overweight or have a family history of heart problems.

The academy has long recommended against reduced-fat milk for children up to age 2 because saturated fats are needed for brain development.

"But now we have the obesity epidemic and people are thinking maybe this isn't such a good idea," said Dr. Frank Greer of the University of Wisconsin, co-author of the guidelines report, which appears in the July edition of Pediatrics, the group's medical journal.

MY OPINION: Everything today is labeled and packaged and sold for "convenience". You can find just about anything you'd like sold in "single serving" containers. Heck, the "drive through" was invented to deliver fast food to the masses in record time. Is it any wonder then that people in America are fat? So now what do we do? We try and make changes because "based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life."

Wow, I had no idea! (/sarcasm) I mean I am no expert but doesn't it follow that habits established early in life kind of stick with you as you get older?

My question? How long until we are genetically modifying our babies in the womb so they aren't "at risk" for things like obesity and heart disease? (Okay, I'll admit, maybe that's a bit far fetched) When isn't overexposure to anything not "life threatening" in this day and age? Heck, you can't go out in the sun for too long, we don't want to get skin cancer. You can't take deep breaths of air, what with all the carcinogens.

When will it ever end? Why can't people just make common sense decisions for their lives and their families? I'll tell you why. Because it's not "convenient".