With high cholesterol numbers , children are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease later in life .
Thomas Seery , child cardiologist at Texas Children Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine , obese children are more likely to experience abnormal cholesterol levels . However, the percentage of cholesterol problems in children with normal weight are also not small .
"In fact, 35 percent of children who are not obese also have problems in their cholesterol levels , " he said .
He stressed , pediatricians and parents need to teach children healthy habits , such as eating properly and exercising regularly . If not , they tend to suffer from health problems such as heart disease or stroke .
Seery explains , cardiovascular disease in children is rare , however, atherosclerosis ( hardening of the arteries) can already be started since the age of the children . " The better they are taught today , the better their health later in life , " he said .
