Good heart health begins in infancy

Rapid weight gain in a child’s early years could increase their heart attack and stroke risk as adults, a study has found.

The US research, which looked at 957 children from birth, was inspired by a rising trend of high blood pressure in American children and adolescents.

The experts found that large hikes in body mass index, a measure of height related to weight, from birth to six months, and aged two to three, can lead to higher blood pressure when children are around eight-years-old - which is linked to health problems in adulthood.

Every rising increment of BMI was associated with an increase of around 1 to 1.5 mmHg in systolic blood pressure - the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.

Read the full article on the Nursery World website