Lipitor for children?

Jul/07/2008 07:20

For the first time in world history children are dying because they have too much food. Yes, here in the US 30% of children are obese and now the AAP has recommended that children, as young as 8, start taking statins to help control their cholesterol. Pharma will of course embrace this as any company is happy to expand the market but if we are really focused on the overall health of our customers a lot more has to be done on prevention, especially with children.

It’s easy to see why children today can become obese, for the most part they have become couch potatoes who like to use the remote control or game pads rather than go outside an play football or baseball. They no longer walk to school but are driven even if school is located just a couple of blocks away. Rather than look at the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics as more dollars pharma needs to reach out to various organizations to educate parents on the dangers of a sedimentary live style for children.

Health education continues to be the number one searched for category on the Web and unless you look deeply into most sites you will not find much on obesity in children. While the news today is sure to change that pharmaceutical companies need to go above and beyond the “basics” and really start to educate parents on the dangers of heart disease in children. We all want the best for our children and this emotion needs to be leveraged to get kids during more physical activity and eating less “mega-fat” burgers.

Is it easier to just give your son or daughter a pill rather than encouraging more physical activity? Yes it is but the root of the problem goes much deeper than that pharma and non-profit organizations along with the top medical websites have to spread the word about a segment of the population that has too much food for the first time in history.