European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 18, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Cholesterol level forbids by Jane e. Brody new York times coronary heart disease is rarely thought Olas a Youl Hull affliction but this disease which kills More americans than any other has its roots in the dietary and other habits sedentary living and smoking among them adapted during childhood and adolescence. By age 4, the average american child has already reached a serum cholesterol level that is As High As it should be in adulthood it coronary arteries Are to remain unclogged by tally deposits about 30 percent of he nation s youngsters have cholesterol Levels that most experts consider abnormally High Levels Likely 10 grow increasingly worse when the children become adults. That s the bad news. The Good news is that something can be done to prevent this problem the necessary measures Are neither drastic nor difficult even modest changes in diet and exercise can result in a significant reduction in youngsters cholesterol Levels according to a study of 3,000 children just completed by the american health foundation. Through its know your body program conducted in schools in new York the foundation showed that regular classroom lessons starting in the fourth Grade produced posh is results. By the 10th Grade these students were Ealing less at especially less saturated fat less animal protein and More Complex carbohydrates. Compared with a randomly assigned control group the know your body children were also More physically til and less Likely to smoke cigarettes. The combined effect was a significant drop in serum cholesterol although not yet to he level of 140 milligrams per 100 Millilitres of serum considered desirable in children if the epidemic of heart disease now afflicting the american population is to be curtailed. In Japan Gryca and other countries Hal do not Nave a Western style die and where heart disease is rare cholesterol Levels in children average about 110 to 120 and in adults about 140 to 160, with almost none above 200. In the United steles however the average for children is 160 and for adult men 220, with Many at 250 or higher. Throughout the world cholesterol Levels of children Are closely related to those of adults. An ironic exception is Japan a country where adults have Long had very Low cholesterol Levels end a Low Rele of heart disease. However the children today have disproportionately High cholesterol Levels reflecting their More westernized diet and Way of life and suggesting that a steady increase in heart disease will occur As they age. In the United states the american heart association a National consensus panel convened by the National institutes of health and the american health foundation have All recommended changes in the american diet. These guidelines considered too moderate by some Call for limiting fat intake to 30 percent of the calories consumed it is now at 43 percent and limiting saturated lats to 10 percent these lats raise cholesterol Levels in the blood. Further the guidelines suggest limiting cholesterol to 100 milligrams for every 1,000 calories consumed to a maximum of 250 to 300 milligrams a Day consuming less sail and simple carbohydrates sugar and eating More Liber Rich Complex carbohydrates Iru is and vegetables. Currently. In the new York area about 80 percent of a year old Are eating More saturated fat end 60 percent Are consuming More cholesterol than is recommended according to the american health foundation red meat and whole milk products Are the main sources of saturated fats and cholesterol in the diets of americans. To put the recommended diet into practice children would have la Largo some of their double cheeseburgers Fries shakes ice Cream doughnuts chips sodas White bread whole milk cheese eggs sausages and luncheon meals. Instead they should eat More Chicken Turkey fish whole Grain cereals and breads Rice potatoes pasta fruits vegetables fruit juices Low Lal or skim milk Margarine Rozen Yogurt or fruit sherbet. Or. Charles j. Glueck. A paediatrician Al the University of Cincinnati school of Medicine says that among children with the highest cholesterol Levels in 90 percent of them the Levels Are predominantly diet related. In Only 10 percent is the problem caused by hereditary disorders. Modest and easily achievable dietary modifications can produce an average reduction of nearly 30 milligrams in the youngsters cholesterol Levels Glueck reports. Despite this the committee on nutrition of the american Academy of paediatrics has advised that in would seem prudent not to recommend changes in current dietary patterns without first assessing the effects on growth development and such measures of nutritional adequacy As the status of  the committee a concerned that children will consume too Little Iron Rich red meat and Calcium Rich Dairy products and too few calories Overall to sustain proper growth. But in the Academy s own journal the month before researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine described a study of 73 children who had inherited a tendency to produce very High Levels of cholesterol in their blood. These children 3 months to 18 years old were placed on the Low lat Low cholesterol diet mentioned above six years later their cholesterol Levels were significantly reduced but no differences were found in the children s height and weight when compared with 39 children of the same age and sex who ate Normal non restrictive diets. Similarly a conference convened by the american health foundation three years ago concluded thai there is no evidence that the recommended diet will impair growth or adversely affect brain development As Long As it provides adequate calories protein and essential fatty acids available from one Tablespoon of unsaturated vegetable Oil daily. However if parents tearing Hal their children will become obese Are Loo restrictive in their youngsters diets and caloric intake growth impairment could indeed result. The foundation conference did acknowledge that no study has yet been conducted nor is in Likely that it Ever will be that can show conclusively Hal the recommended diet when adopted in childhood will result in adults with a lower risk of heart disease. Behavioural psychologists say people Lino ii much easier to Slick with what they Are used to than to change Long established habits. Thus it would make More sense to Start on the Healthiest dietary path at a child than to have to change a hazardous diet during one s adult years. Tuesday. November in 19b6 the stabs and stripes Page -17