Friday, 20 November 2009

• Children and Cholesterol Medication?

  

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  Childhood obesity is a hot topic and a real concern in America these days.  The problem is only growing and health officials and parents alike have been debating about what course of action to take in both prevention and treatment.  With obesity, comes a slew of health problems including high cholesterol.  Unfortunately, children are not exempt from this side-effect of obesity.  Recently, I read an article concerning this topic on RealAge titled “Should 8-Year-Olds Be Popping Cholesterol Pills?” and it got me to thinking.
  

  The article mentioned above, says that in July the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) put out a list of new guidelines, some of them being reasonable, in my opinion, others not so much.  For instance the AAP is recommending that children two and older should have their HDL(good) and LDL(bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels checked. 

  Ok, this seems like a great idea. If there is a problem with the child’s cholesterol or triglyceride levels then at least it will be caught early.  Then doctors and parents can take steps to ensure that these problems are monitored and hopefully with lifestyle changes eliminated or at least reduced. 

  The AAP guideline I am unsure about is one that supports giving cholesterol medication to children, eight and older, in order to lower high HDL cholesterol.  I know that high cholesterol can be hereditary and sometimes a healthy lifestyle just isn’t enough to fix a cholesterol problem so in those cases I say maybe.  However, I think alternative treatments must first be explored.

  Before anyone, most importantly, a child begins taking medication for cholesterol I would think it would be wise to take a look at what they have been eating and what their exercise habits are like.  If you can take care of a health problem by eating healthier and living a more active lifestyle then why wouldn’t you?  If the problem still does not improve after making these types of changes then by all means trying medication might be a good idea. 

  What I am really afraid of with this guideline is the potential for it being abused. I just foresee drug companies pushing these “kid cholesterol medications” in order to make a buck. 

  In turn, doctors may begin to push the drugs on their patients’ parents.  From what I have witnessed parents get pretty worried when there is something wrong with their child’s health and may panic and buy into the drugs before exploring other treatments, especially when the pills come with a doctor’s recommendation.

  I just think that too often drugs are pushed by someone looking to make a profit and that sometimes drugs are taken by people looking for the easy way out of a bad situation. 

  What do you think, should children be taking medication for high cholesterol? 

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