High cholesterol in children from Medwatch 7 KSWO on Vimeo.

In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has doubled in the United States. Because of this trend, more children than ever before are at an increased risk of developing heart disease risk factors like type two diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that all children between nine and 11 years of age be screened for high cholesterol due to the growing number of obese children.