Causecast

By MELISSA JUN ROWLEY, Contributing Writer

We saw it coming quite some time ago. Now there is proof that it has begun. We are aging more quickly, and not in a good way. According to the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a new study shows that more children and adolescents are being treated for conditions that up until recently did not develop in humans until adulthood. Researchers have found that prescriptions for high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and diabetes jumped more than 15 percent in three years.

In the study, pharmaceutical professionals at CVS Caremark, a distributor of medications to people with health insurance, analyzed the prescription records of more than five million insured young people (ages 6-18) from November 2004 to June 2006.

“Children and adolescents are starting to show signs of chronic health conditions and cardiovascular risk factors that are typically reserved for adults,” said Joshua N. Liberman, Vice President of Strategic research at CVS Caremark. “We need to be educating health-care providers about the opportunities for managing these patients.”

Liberman attributes the significant increase in prescriptions to childhood obesity. In addition, he says doctors are beginning treatment for grossly overweight children at an earlier age.

So, are kids eating too many jelly doughnuts and sitting inside too much, or are physicians recklessly promoting pill-popping to patients and their parents?

The only means to finding an answer to this question, and to preventing its cause from doing further damage, is education. Families must learn how to instill and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines, and they must take action now. If you have children, please underscore the value of eating fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Even though your kids might want McNuggets now, they’ll thank you later.

The following listed organizations focus on helping households lead more healthful lifestyles. Learn how you can stop the childhood obesity epidemic today!

Alliance for Healthier Generation
We Can!
Obesity Center for Children & Youth, Inc.
Youth Becoming Healthy

Photo by tiffanywashko, flickr