Abstract 267: Prevalence of High Health-Habit Achievers Among Middle School Children and Associated Measures of Cardiovascular Health: A Report from Project Healthy Schools

• Published in: Circulation Cardiovascular quality and outcomes Vol. 6; no. suppl_1
• Main Authors: Stasiak, Ashley, March, Michelle, Gurm, Roopa, Jones, Anne, Sylvester, Rachel, Corriveau, Nicole, DuRussel-Weston, Jean, Kline-Rogers, Eva, Goldberg, Caren, Eagle, Kim A, Jackson, Elizabeth A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.05.2013
• ISSN: 1941-7713; 1941-7705
• DOI: 10.1161/circoutcomes.6.suppl_1.A267

Abstract only Background: Studies show that maintaining a low-risk cardiovascular profile throughout life leads to significantly lower levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD), an improved quality of life, and markedly longer survival. Early education is therefore imperative to teach children about healthy lifestyle choices and reducing potential cardiovascular risk. This study reports the prevalence of “high health-habit achievers” (HHHA) among our baseline population and examines cardiovascular health parameters as a function of behavior between HHHA and their peers. Methods: Data was collected from 3,999 sixth grade students including: 24-hour food and 7-day physical activity recalls, typical screen time behavior, and cardiovascular parameters. Students were separated into two cohorts based on their reported number of high health-habits. HHHA were defined as those students who met 4/5 health-habits promoted by Project Healthy Schools (PHS) including: < 2 hours of screen time/day, < 1 unhealthy beverages/day, < 1 fried, fatty or sweet foods/day, > 5 sessions of moderate (30 min) or vigorous (20 min) activity/week, > 5 servings of fruits and vegetables/day. Those not considered HHHA were labeled “Other.” Health parameters were then compared between cohorts using chi-square analysis. Results: The percentage of HHHA at baseline was 10.4 % (415/3999). The HHHA differed significantly from their peers and expressed more favorable health parameters: HDL (p = 0.006), random glucose (p = 0.040), weight (p = 0.008), and recovery heart rate (p ≤0.001) (Figure). Conclusions: The prevalence of students achieving four out of five of the high heath-habits, at baseline, was extremely low. The cardiovascular profiles of the HHHA proved to be more favorable than Other in four parameters known to reflect overall cardiovascular health. This suggests that even at a young age, an increasing number of high health habits may be associated with a better cardiovascular profile and provides support, furthermore, for the goals promoted by PHS.