Less sugary drinks during childhood may cut disease risk

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Less sugary drinks during childhood may cut disease risk

Symptoms of heart disease and diabetes usually seen in adults are

increasingly being found in adolescents according to a longitudinal

study, which suggests that reducing the intake of sugar-sweetened

beverages during childhood may lessen the risk of chronic disease in

later life.

 

" Research on obesity and associated problems such as hypertension

and type-2 diabetes has largely dealt with adults, " says Alison

Ventura, doctoral candidate at Penn State's Center for Childhood

Obesity Research. " But with increasing rates of obesity in children,

we are seeing these problems at much younger ages. "

 

Ventura and her colleagues Eric Loken, assistant professor of human

development and family studies, and Leann Birch, professor of human

development and family studies, are studying the clustering of

traits such as insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, hypertension,

and high triglycerides combined with low HDL – good cholesterol –

that are thought to be related to cardiovascular disease and

diabetes in adults.

 

The clustering of these traits, otherwise known as metabolic

syndrome, is a strong indicator for chronic disease, and is being

diagnosed in an increasing number of U.S adults and adolescents.

 

" Researchers think insulin resistance is the underlying trait that

leads to the other metabolic abnormalities, " says Ventura. " It is

now thought that obesity may be a trigger for insulin resistance,

thus creating a cascade of risk. "

 

However, the Penn State researcher adds there is little data on the

prevalence of metabolic syndrome in children since they are not

routinely screened. Her team is trying to find a risk profile for

later disease among children having the symptoms for metabolic

syndrome.

 

The current study, funded by the National Institutes of Health,

looked at different traits such as blood pressure, waist

circumference, and levels of HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and

glucose in 154 white non-Hispanic 13-year-old girls and their

parents, from central Pennsylvania. This study also had data on the

girls and their parents' dietary, activity and lifestyle patterns

starting from when the girls were five-years-old.

 

" We first looked for different profiles for the indicators of

metabolic syndrome when the girls were 13, then worked backwards to

see what was causing them in the first place, " says Ventura, whose

findings appear this month (December) in the Journal of American

Academy of Pediatrics.

 

The study found statistical support was the greatest for the

presence of four different groups within the sample: These groups

included girls with higher blood pressure and waist circumference

values; girls with higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels

of HDL cholesterol; girls with more desirable values on all of the

metabolic syndrome indicators, and girls with more undesirable

values on all of the indicators.

 

" We wanted to see if we could find higher and lower risk profiles in

the sample, " explains Ventura. " Next we wanted to see if there were

certain characteristics across ages 5 to 11 that predicted having a

higher or lower risk profile. "

 

Results from the study further suggest that girls within the risk

groups for hypertension and metabolic syndrome also had

significantly greater increases in weight and fat mass between the

ages of 5 and 13 compared to the other two groups. Those at higher

risk for metabolic syndrome were also found to be consuming

significantly more servings of sugary beverages between the ages of

5 and 9 compared to the other three groups.

 

The Penn State researcher , however, cautions on making general

interpretations from the study.

 

" We do not have future data on these girls and so we can only

speculate that girls in the high risk group might develop metabolic

syndrome, heart disease or type-2 diabetes, " she adds.

 

Though the study cannot definitely pinpoint which children will

develop chronic diseases, Ventura says the results show evidence for

metabolic syndrome in early adolescence. They also illustrate

several possible disease trajectories that may be avoided by certain

measures during early childhood. The researchers also point out that

only girls were included in the study.

 

" Family history does play a role, but it appears that we can prevent

the development of metabolic syndrome in children by taking certain

actions in early life. Controlling weight gain and the intake of

sugar-sweetened drinks may prevent a child from the risk of disease

later in life, " Ventura adds.

 

 

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The Penn State Center for Childhood Obesity Research is at

http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/ccor/