What is Adolescent Hypertension?

Adolescent hypertension is hypertension that develops in childhood. Health risks associated with untreated/unrecognized hypertension include:

• Kidney disease
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Stroke

While these are serious health risks, they won’t directly affect most children. The problem, however, is that these health conditions will become much more likely later in life. And, as hypertension is often undiagnosed and unrecognized for long periods of time, these health risks can occur without warning. 

Hypertension is basically impossible to detect without the help of a medical professional (or at least accurate blood pressure monitor readings). It is due to this fact that adolescent hypertension often goes undiagnosed.

The Prevalence of Sugary Drinks

Sugary drinks are nearly everywhere, especially for children. Sugary sodas add calories with no beneficial nutrients and, therefore, should be monitored in a child’s diet as they can replace foods that have important nutrients. In fact, larger servings of some of the sugar-sweetened sodas have more sugar in them than some candy bars!

The best way to avoid excessive sugar intake from drinks is to read the nutrition labels & ingredients. 

Avoiding High-Sugar Low-Nutrient Drinks

Association research has found that a high intake of sugary drinks is associated with increased odds of developing hypertension in adolescents. Although more studies are needed to confirm the exact nature of this association,  parents should be aware of the amounts of sugary drinks their children consume and help limit drinks that have high sugar with no/limited nutrients or food group benefits.

Making sure your children have water or non-sweetened beverages to take to school is one idea. Many school cafeterias and vending machines sell drinks that have extremely high amounts of sugar. Avoiding these drinks is imperative when it comes to dodging adolescent hypertension.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

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In a recent Systematic Review, breakfast consumers had higher energy intake, fiber intake, and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables than non-breakfast eaters. People who ate regular healthy breakfasts also has lower consumption of soft drinks than those who skipped breakfast.

The most important meal of the day? When it comes to energy, breakfast just might be.

The Importance of Breakfast

The nutrients and energy kids derive from breakfast don’t just enhance their daily performance. Regular breakfast has been associated with overall health and keeping dangerous health conditions at bay, including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Obesity

While the optimal caloric/energy intake kids should have with breakfast is still in debate, the issue of eating breakfast or not is non-existent. Children who eat breakfast have better macronutrient distribution, leading to healthy lives and overall performance.

Breakfast is also important by being the first meal after the longest fast of a typical day. Sleeping 8+ hours means no food for 8+ hours. Making sure to have a healthy breakfast after a long period of no eating can get kids refueled and ready for the day.

Eating a Healthy Breakfast & Energy

Kids who ate breakfast regularly showed higher levels of carbohydrate, fiber, and protein intake when compared to breakfast-skippers. Fruit, vegetable, and dairy consumption levels were all found to be higher in the groups of kids who ate regular breakfasts.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

The post Breakfast Nutrients & Kids appeared first on Biofortis Research.