Children who are overweight or obese may have as much atherosclerotic plaque build-up in their arteries as adults in their 40's, say researchers.

Geetha Raghuveer and colleagues studied 70 children aged 6 to 19. All of the children involved in the study were at high risk of future cardiovascular disease because they had a high cholesterol level and/or were obese, or they had familial hypercholesterolemia. The thickness of the inner wall of each child's carotid artery (carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT) was measured by ultrasound scan. A high CIMT reading indicates that there is a build-up of plaque in the carotid artery, and is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Results showed that the average CIMT was 0.45 millimeters – a measurement usually associated with someone in their mid-40's – with some children having a CIMT of 0.75 millimeters. Obese children and children with high triglyceride levels were the most likely to have high CIMT readings. Overall, approximately 75% of children had a higher CIMT reading than would be expected for their age.

According to study leader Dr Raghuveer, the children's “vascular age” – the age at which the level of thickening would be considered normal for their gender and race – was roughly 30 years older than their chronological age. “There's a saying that ‘you're as old as your arteries,' meaning that the state of your arteries is more important than your actual age in the evolution of heart disease and stroke,” said Raghuveer in a news release. “We found that the state of the arteries in these children is more typical of a 45-year-old than of someone their own age.”

News release: Obese kids' artery plaque similar to middle-aged adults. American Heart Association Scientific Sesssions 2008. November 11th 2008.