By prescribing statins for eight years-old is tantamount to saying that food and diet have failed. And that children are incapable of changing their eating habits and lifestyle.
Recently, the American Academy of [tag] Pediatrics (AAP) announced recommendations to prescribe cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to obese children as young as eight. But prescribing statins to children is the complete opposite of what should be done.
We cannot expect to maintain eight year-old on statins until the end of their days. This may seem like a winning solution for pharmaceutical companies to offset the falling sales of statins to adults. Just think about the financial, health and ethical implications for the public. And the dangers we are exposing our children into all the side-effects from taking statins drugs.
There is an old saying that goes, like this.
“It’s better to have a fence at the top of a cliff than an ambulance at the bottom”.
It is now the time for the food and nutrition industries to speak out and emphasise the value of dietary approaches.
However, there are a number of questions that need to be answered.
Firstly, how irresponsible and potentially dangerous is it to prescribe eight year-old statin drugs?
Secondly, is there any study to show that this course of action is not only safe but also successful?
AAP panel member Dr Nicolas Stettler from the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia said:
“We know that in adults, decreasing cholesterol and giving some of those drugs decreases risk of heart disease or death. So there’s really no reason to think that would be any different in children.”
That is not a scientific statement.
One doubts that Dr Stettler will be accountable in 40 years time if something different emerges.
The fact is: The lifestyles of these children have got them into this state. And the common sense solution is to change their lifestyle and to get them out of it. And that means changing their diet.
There is a wealth of dietary approaches to lower cholesterol. We know about plant sterols which has been clinically proven to reduce total cholesterol levels by eight to 17 per cent. (if consumed at a daily amount of 1.5 to 3 grams.) Moreover, post-launch monitoring studies report that these do work in real populations.
There are other avenues available: Oatmeal and beta-glucan from oats have numerous studies backing up their efficacy. Then there is soy, omega-3 rich oils and even garlic.
A report on a study from the University of Pennsylvania Health System found fish oils, red yeast rice and other lifestyle changes may reduce cholesterol levels by the same amount as a daily statin pill. A whopping 42.4 per cent drop in LDL-cholesterol levels was reported.
No person in their right mind can say that dietary avenues do not exist. And no-one can say that these will not work with eight year-olds.
Blaming the food industry for the growing obesity epidemic and looking to the pharmaceutical industry to solve the problem is short-sighted. It also points out a disturbing misunderstanding of the complexity of obesity.
If you like the information, please share it with your friends and love ones. They will be thankful to you and You may save a life!
Tags: Childrens Hospital
