Abstract
The manifestation of cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and particularly obesity begins in children and adolescents, with deleterious effects for cardiometabolic health at adulthood. Although the impact of diet on cardiovascular risk factors has been studied extensively in adults, showing that their cardiometabolic health is strongly lifestyle-dependent, less is known about this impact in children and adolescents. In particular, little is known about the relationship between their dietary patterns, especially when derived a posteriori, and cardiovascular risk. An adverse association of cardiovascular health and increased intake of sodium, saturated fat, meat, fast food and soft drinks has been reported in this population. In contrast, vitamin D, fiber, mono-and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, dairy, fruits and vegetables were positively linked to cardiovascular health.The aim of this review was to summarize current epidemiological and experimental evidence on the impact of nutrients, foods, and dietary pattern on cardiometabolic health in children and adolescents. A comprehensive review of the literature available in English and related to diet and cardiometabolic health in this population was undertaken via the electronic databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Medline.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12937-015-0107-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
It is well known that atherosclerosis progresses from childhood and adolescence to adulthood [1]
This process is related to the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors such as glucose intolerance, obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
Due to the time course of atherosclerosis, it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between risk exposure and cardiovascular disease events; the available evidence indicates that childhood cardiometabolic risk factors are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood [1]
Summary
It is well known that atherosclerosis progresses from childhood and adolescence to adulthood [1]. This process is related to the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors such as glucose intolerance, obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Due to the time course of atherosclerosis, it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between risk exposure and cardiovascular disease events; the available evidence indicates that childhood cardiometabolic risk factors are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood [1]. The increasing obesity epidemic has a detrimental effect on cardiometabolic health in children and adolescents. A recent meta-analysis showed that obese children had a higher risk of an adverse cardiometabolic
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