pediatrics
Hypertension in Children
Prevention
Weight reduction Exercise Reducing salt intake Reduction of cardiovascular risk factors Children has become a major problem. Children are spending an inordinate amount of time in front of a screen. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children 8 to 10 years old spend an average of 6 hours per day, children 11 to 14 spend an average of 9 hours per day, and children 15 to 18 spend an average of 7½ hours per day. These totals include only the time spent in front of a screen for entertainment. They do not include the time spent using a computer at school for educational purposes or at home for homework. This amount of screen time comes at the expense of exercise and thus contributes to overweight and obesity. Children ages 6 to 17 should be doing 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 3 to 5 days per week. Younger children should be physically active throughout the day. According to the CDC, children ages 6 to 18 in the US consume about 3300 mg of sodium per day ( Prevention reference ), and this is before salt is added at the table. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services It is important to screen for smoking in children and, where necessary, help implement a Cessation in children . In addition, it is important to screen for use of 1.Yang Q, Zhang Z, Kukline EV, et al: Sodium intake and blood pressure among US children and adolescents.Pediatrics130(4): 611–619, 2012. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-3870 