Statin drugs to treat obese children
I could hardly believe what I was reading when I saw this today: The American Academy of Pediatrics has announced new guidelines in treating obese children that emphasize administering cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to kids as young as 8 to lower their risk of heart disease. First, I think this is sad because it means that, on a national level, healthy eating and exercise education efforts have largely failed. And, second, it seems unconscionable that health “leaders” would advocate prescription meds for children so young when so many other diet and lifestyle modifications have been proven to work as well, if not better. Are we so under the sway of the fast food culture and advertising that we simply can’t break the cycle? It seems like a huge cop-out.
Related Topics: Kids and Family, Health, From the Editors
