029 The prevalence of cardiac risk factors in grade 10 students in a small urban centre in New Brunswick

Abstract

Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century (WHO, 2011). Children who are overweight or obese are at risk of heart disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Accurate documentation of local adolescent obesity rates and associated cardiac risk factors was identified as the first step in potentially reversing this harmful societal trend. At a local high school, health professionals screened for early signs of cardiovascular disease at a health screening day in October 2010.