Inactive youth at risk of heart disease

MANY young people are at serious risk of developing heart disease with more than half of adolescents not engaging in enough physical exercise, according to research published yesterday.

A survey of 1,500 adolescents revealed that a fifth of all 15 to 17-year-olds in north Dublin city and county are either overweight or obese.

Dr Will Fennell, president of the Irish Heart Foundation which funded part of the research, warned: “The Irish Heart Foundation is in no doubt that the positive trend in reducing coronary heart disease over the last two decades will quickly be reversed. Not only are the levels of overweight and obesity of concern, but as the Take PART survey shows, a large number of young people are not physically active enough and the National Children’s Survey highlights a number of deficiencies in children’s diet, all of which independently impact on risk of heart disease.”