An expert panel convened by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute encourages parents to get their children between ages 9 and 11 tested for high cholesterol. This recommendation has been approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The main impetus for this call to action is as a preventative measure; autopsy studies on some children have revealed heart disease that was not producing symptoms. While fats build up in the arteries for the first twenty years of life, it isn’t until adulthood that they begin to harden, so testing in the twenties could prove to be too late.

The panel is also suggesting diabetes screening every two years for children starting at age 9. Since one third of children and teens are obese or overweight in this country, the risk for both heart disease and diabetes is amplified. Cholesterol testing runs about $80 and is often covered under insurance policies. Also, parents who fear this would mean their kids would be taking drugs can rest assured as the new guidelines predict medicine would be prescribed in less than 1% of those tested.

Still, this push to test has its detractors, namely in that of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In 2007 the group stated that there is not enough information available to come to a conclusion for or against youth testing, and that there is a huge amount of “lag time” between treatment and a potential heart attack.

WEIGH IN:

Are they right in saying that it’s too long of an amount of time to properly prevent heart disease? Would you rather be safe than sorry and just get your kids tested? Have your children had any problems with their cholesterol levels? What can be done to make sure our children are not only healthy now, but will be in the future?