tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42945599695287947052011-09-20T11:41:08.920-07:00News Updaternoreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294559969528794705.post-73084406325186947362011-09-04T01:45:00.001-07:002011-09-04T01:45:54.572-07:00<p class="introduction" id="story_continues_1">Growing up starved of calories may give you a higher risk of heart disease 50 years on, research suggests.</p> <p>Researchers in The Netherlands tracked the heart health of Dutch women who lived through the famine at the end of World War II.</p> <p>Those living on rations of 400-800 calories a day had a 27% higher risk of heart disease in later life.</p> <p>It's the first direct evidence early nutrition shapes future health, <a href="http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/">they report in the European Heart Journal</a>.</p> <p>The Dutch famine of 1944-45 gave researchers in Holland a unique opportunity to study the long-term effects of severe malnutrition in childhood and adolescence.</p> <p>A combination of factors - including failed crops, a harsh winter and the war - caused thousands of deaths among people living in the west of The Netherlands.</p> <p>The women, who were aged between 10 and 17 at the time, were followed up in 2007.</p> <p>The team, from the University Medical Center Utrecht and the University of Amsterdam, found those who were severely affected by the famine had a 27% greater risk of developing heart disease than those who had had enough to eat.</p> <p><strong>Diet impact</strong></p> <p>Lead author Annet van Abeelen told the BBC: "The most important message is that it is good to realise that disturbing the development of children through acute malnutrition can have implications for later adult health.</p> <p>"It's not only the short-term direct consequences that matter. Even 50 years later, there is still a higher risk of adult coronary heart disease."</p> <p>Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietitian for the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study showed a link between children and young adults experiencing famine and the likelihood of them developing heart disease later on in life. </p> <p>"Although it wasn't clear exactly what changes occurred in the body to increase the risk, this highlights how our environment can have a long-term impact upon our heart health.</p> <p>"Fortunately, the problems of famine seen in other countries have not been an issue in the UK in recent times. But that doesn't make this study irrelevant for us. </p> <p>"It adds to the importance of providing a healthy diet for children and young people because of the way it can shape their future heart health."</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4294559969528794705-7308440632518694736?l=rockcitygentlemen.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>News Updaternoreply@blogger.com0