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Heart-healthy lifestyle is best begun young

We often admire infants and toddlers with chubby cheeks and extra fat, blissfully unaware of the health calamities that await them as they grow older. This is known as infantile obesity and has a huge impact on adult life as well.

The World Health Organization warns us that children with excess body weight have a higher probability of becoming obese adults and developing various health issues. It has estimated 160 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years to be obese, and around 390 million to be overweight, globally.

A study from United Kingdom published in the European Heart Journal in July this year has tracked the health parameters of over 2000 individuals born in the year 1946 up to the age of 64 years. The authors found that individuals who were obese at the age of 20 continued to remain obese in adulthood and this had adverse effects on the structure and function of their hearts. They also observed that when individuals who were obese in their younger life chose to reduce weight by means of exercise and diet, they had a lesser incidence of heart disease in later years.

Is it only the heart that gets affected in longstanding obesity? Almost all the diseases that are rampant today, like diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol abnormalities, stroke, heart attack, heart failure, liver dysfunction, kidney ailments, chronic lung diseases, joint disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, fertility problems and even several cancers and psychosocial illnesses have obesity as the common underlying thread. 

As a physiotherapist focused on the role of healthy lifestyle in heart-health and overall well-being, I would like to share some simple tips to ensure healthy body weight in our youngsters.

Parenting and home culture

Active parents raise active children! Positive reinforcement of physical activity, healthy eating habits at home, creating a consistent sleep pattern, refraining from over usage of gadgets, and providing opportunities for children to explore outdoor activities are some ways to build healthy youngsters.

School environment

Educating students about healthy lifestyles, promoting food choices with nutritional benefits in school cafeterias, encouraging physical activity during leisure time and physical education classes covering team activities and emotional bonding are crucial to inculcating lifelong healthy habits. Parents could assist in this mission by providing appealing and nutritional snack packs.

Food habits

Eating home-cooked meals with the family and avoiding eating out often are ever so important in this app-based, eat-all and eat-whenever era. Homemade fruit juices, milkshakes, lassi and soups, a wide variety of salads and hot traditional dishes are so much more healthier than anything purchased off the supermarket shelf!

Promoting physical activity

Engaging children in fun activities, outdoor games or team sports is very important. Parents and children can together enjoy gardening, playing with pets, performing household chores and taking regular walks or jogs. This not only helps in inter-generational bonding but also avoids many destructive behaviors that teenagers might engage in.

In conclusion, ignoring healthy choices at a young age can have devastating effects in later years of life. So, it is never too early. Start incorporating these lifestyle changes in your children and prioritise their health. In keeping with the mission of World Heart Day which falls on September 29 every year, Cardiac Wellness Institute is glad to spread awareness about healthy lifestyle in children and adolescents to achieve the goal of healthy adults with strong and healthy hearts.

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Lifestyle versus Genes in the causation of heart attack

Are you anxious and concerned that more and more people who appear healthy and normal are suffering a heart attack? Are you puzzled about how some individuals seem to have an unfair health advantage over others?

Lifestyle risk factors

We have discussed the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for heart attack or myocardial infarction in an earlier thread: http://www.cardiacwellnessinstitute.com/heart-disease-treatment-prevention/uncategorized/heart-disease-whats-all-the-hue-and-cry-about/

The INTERHEART study published in the year 2004 provided a major breakthrough in our understanding of the causation of heart attack. The researchers included 15152 individuals with heart attack and 14820 persons without a history of heart disease, from 52 countries, in this study. They identified that the 9 risk factors shown in the picture below are collectively responsible for 90-95% of the heart attacks we see today. Each one of these is an independent risk factor and presence of more than 1 risk factor multiplies the risk alarmingly.

Genetic risk factors

If you have been to a doctor by yourself or with someone, with a chest pain, your doctor would have asked the question “does anybody in your immediate family have a heart disease?” as part of the medical history taking.

Genes, as we all know, are the building blocks of our cells. We derive our genetic imprint from our parents and ancestors, share many of our genes with our siblings and relatives and even pass them on to our children. So, what is the chance that you will suffer a heart attack if your father or mother has had one? It is definitely higher than for your friend who does not have a family history of heart attack. However, research from the recent past provides some interesting insights into the role of lifestyle and genes in causing myocardial infarction.

Over 3000 Costa Ricans, equal numbers with and without myocardial infarction, participated in a medical research study published in 2016. An in-depth analysis of the lifestyle and genetic markers of heart attack in this population revealed that lifestyle risk factors were more strongly associated with heart attack than genetic susceptibility.

Take-home message

Leading a healthy lifestyle has by far the best chance of protecting you from heart attack even though you might have a family history. You might want to start by scoring yourself based on your lifestyle using the SLAM score http://www.cardiacwellnessinstitute.com/heart-disease-treatment-prevention/uncategorized/the-race-against-ourselves/

 

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A to Z of a heart-healthy lifestyle

 

We introduce the English alphabets to our kids at a very young age hoping that their language skills and intellect will start developing as they master their A to Z. Likewise, let us try to understand the building blocks of a healthy heart through this set of lifestyle guidelines.

A Avoid tobacco products and alcoholic beverages
B Balance your diet by including fruits, veggies and whole grains
C Cheer up and be grateful for what you have
D Discover your hidden talents and use them
E Engage in some form of exercise everyday
F Fruits – everyday; fast foods & fried foods – very rarely
G Goal setting is a useful tool to improve health
H Help others as much as you can
I Invest time in building friendships and relationships
J Juices should ideally be fresh, homemade and sugar free
K Kill the sitting habit; get up and walk as much as possible
L Love unconditionally – Learn a new skill – Leave the past behind
M Make meditation a part of your life
N Nature is all around for us to enjoy, protect it and pass it on
O Open up your feelings to your loved ones
P Play games that bring back memories of childhood
Q Quitting smoking is the best gift you can give yourself
R Refresh your body and soul with active hobbies
S Smile as much as you can; sleep at least 6-7 hours per day
T Television/gadget time should be kept to a minimum
U Use your time wisely – don’t use lack of time as an excuse
V Visit your physician regularly to keep your health in check
W Water – drink a lot; Walking – brisk walk is the most effective
X Xpect less out of others and give more from yourself
Y Young at heart is a feeling, it is a state of mind that can beat aging
Z Zealously follow your dreams but don’t lose track of your health

If we can lead this lifestyle and set an example for our youngsters to follow, there is going to be a sea of change in how they care for themselves as they grow up.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going – Old Saying

Tough are those who are resilient to unhealthy habits – New Saying