Obesity in children is a growing problem nowadays. Childhood obesity is considered an epidemic in the United States, as reports show that one out of four children in the United States is obese. The situation was much better 30 years ago, when one out of seven children had problems with his weight.

The small study, which involved 70 children ages 6 to 19, found that the arteries of many obese children and teenagers are as thick and stiff as those of 45-year-olds. The findings suggest that these children could have severe cardiovascular disease in their 20s and 30s.

Dr Geetha Raghuveer of Children's Mercy Hospital and colleagues used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the arteries in the participants’ necks. Increasing carotid artery intima-media thickness, or CIMT, indicates a build-up of fatty deposits, known as plaque, in crucial arteries to the heart and brain. Plaque can restrict the flow of blood causing heart attacks or stroke. The children’s carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) was significantly increased in those with high risk of obesity or who had high levels of triglyceride in the blood, according to the study.

The research found that 52 of the participants had a maximum CIMT of at least 0.5 millimeters, which is considered the average CIMT of a 45-year-old person.

The good news is that if the child looses weight while still young and remains at a normal weight, the risk of heart disease could be reduced substantially. Scientists, however, said that further research was needed in order to achieve convincing results.