A panel of experts appointed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines recommending that pediatricians screen kids for high cholesterol between the ages of 9 and 11.
This may seem early, but the fact is that by the time US kids reach the fourth grade, 10 to 13 percent of them have high cholesterol. The panel also recommends that kids as young as 9 who are overweight or have other risk factors for type 2 diabetes be regularly tested for diabetes and advises doctors to talk to their 5- to 9-year-old patients about the dangers of smoking
