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WASHINGTON: Twenty percent of young people aged 12-19 years in the United States have at least one abnormal lipid level, according to a report released Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Abnormal lipid levels are major risk factors for heart disease, the leading cause of death among adults in the United States.
The report examined data for 1999-2006 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, an ongoing study that explores the health and nutritional status of about 6,000 participants every year. Researchers analyzed measurements of low-density lipoprotein, or "bad," cholesterol; high-density lipoprotein, or "good," cholesterol; and triglycerides.
The researchers found that young people who were overweight or obese were more likely to have one or more abnormal lipid levels compared to normal weight youth. Fourteen percent of normal weight, 22 percent of overweight, and 43 percent of obese youth had one or more abnormal lipid levels.
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Reviewing health indicators for 3,125 youths, researchers also found that differences in lipid levels were associated with sex, age, and race/ethnicity.
"Overweight and obese young people are at far greater risk of having abnormal lipid levels than are youths with normal weights," said Ashleigh May, epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and lead author of the report.
"The current epidemic of childhood obesity makes this a matter of significant and urgent concern."
In the past three decades, obesity among American youths has increased from 5 percent to more than 17 percent. In light of this, the study's authors suggested that clinicians should be aware of guidelines for lipid screening and treatment among youths.