Eating a Healthier Diet Lowers Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease, Metabolic Syndrome Among Kids

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In the United States, about one-third of children and adolescents aged six to 19 are considered overweight or obese, and more than one out of six children and adolescents in the same age bracket are considered obese, as per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This statistic will hopefully decrease soon, as a new study has found that the severity of metabolic syndrome among American teenagers has been improving most likely due to healthier diets.

According to HealthDay, metabolic syndrome is a group of health risk factors such as belly fat and poor cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

Reuters reports that researchers analyzed data from a nationwide survey conducted from 1999 to 2012 over 5,117 teens aged 12 to 19 years. They found that 10% of teens had metabolic syndrome. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome means that a patient has at least three of five risk factors, which include belly fat, high blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, triglyceride levels, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

The study, which was published in the journal "Pediatrics," found that while teen obesity levels saw an increase over a 13-year period, there was no changes in average physical activity levels and there was a decrease in blood fats better known as triglycerides, and an increase in good cholesterol.

"While we don't know for sure why these improvements occurred, we saw that over time, children have eaten healthier diets, eating fewer calories overall, less carbohydrates and more food with unsaturated fat," Dr. Mark DeBoer, study author and associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric endocrinology at University of Virginia, explained, as per WebMD. "This supports the important idea that changes to your lifestyle choices are the key to improving cardiovascular risk status."

While the researchers could not directly link a healthier diet to the study's positive results, DeBoer explained that the changes occurred during a time when dietitians recommended lowering carbohydrate consumption and recognized the health benefits of diet plans like the Mediterranean diet that focused on plant-based foods and unsaturated fats.

"It seems like maybe we're at a turning point," registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at Penn State University Penny Kris-Etherton commented. "It might take a while to see statistically significant decreases in metabolic syndrome in adolescents, but it seems we're seeing some of the benefits now that will hopefully continue to have an impact."