How Young is Your Heart? The American Heart Association Challenges You to Keep Your Heart Young

How Young is Your Heart? The American Heart Association Challenges You to Keep Your Heart Young

World Heart Day Turns the Spotlight on Childhood Obesity

DALLAS, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking care of your health at an early age may help your heart stay younger longer. That's the World Heart Federation's message for this year's World Heart Day awareness campaign.

World Heart Day will be celebrated on Sunday, Sept. 24, by 100 countries around the world with walks, runs, concerts, press conferences and more.

The goal is to curb the global pandemic of cardiovascular disease with a special focus this year on childhood obesity.

With the growth in childhood obesity and the lack of physical activity, increasing numbers of children are at risk of heart disease. In response, the American Heart Association is dedicating 2006 World Heart Day to kids' heart health.

As a global member of the World Heart Federation, the association, along with other organizations, can help educate the younger generation about the risks of cardiovascular diseases and how to prevent or manage them.

"More than 16 percent of children and adolescents in the U.S. are overweight, and we must stop that number from rising," said Raymond J. Gibbons, M.D., the Arthur M. and Gladys D. Gray Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and president of the American Heart Association.

"Overweight adolescents have about a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight adults -- increasing their risk for heart disease," he said. "An investment today in the world's children can secure a healthy tomorrow."

Part of the strategy to secure a healthy future is to inspire and challenge kids to become leaders for heart health within their homes and communities. The American Heart Association encourages adults and children to reduce their risk for cardiovascular diseases by:

* Spending time together involving physical activity.
* Asking their family doctor about other risk factors, such as high
blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and family history - and taking
steps to control them.
* Encouraging schools and community groups to create after-school
physical activity programs that appeal to all kids.
* Educating kids about other risk factors, such as smoking.

The American Heart Association is addressing the issue of children's heart health through the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation to reduce childhood obesity.

The Alliance is partnering with Nickelodeon, the No. 1 kids' entertainment brand, through the network's Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge, a five month on-air mini-series that follows four real kids on their quests to develop healthier lifestyles. Together, Nickelodeon and the Alliance are encouraging kids across the country to participate in the fourth annual Worldwide Day of Play on Saturday, Sept. 30. To show its commitment, Nick will go dark from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time in an effort to get kids and their families to be active and play.

Kids across the nation will gather in parks, playgrounds, community centers and schools to celebrate their pledge to "go healthy." Families can tune into Nickelodeon later that day at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time to see the finale of the Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge. For more information, visit http://www.nick.com/letsjustplay .

The American Heart Association offers several free personal management programs, tools and resources to help people live a heart-healthy life. Visit http://www.americanheart.org/ or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721) for more information.

For more information about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge, visit http://www.healthiergeneration.org/ .

About the American Heart Association

Since 1924, the American Heart Association has helped protect people of all ages and ethnicities from the ravages of heart disease and stroke. These diseases, the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, claim about 910,000 American lives a year. The association invested more than $470 million in fiscal year 2004-05 for research, professional and public education, and advocacy so people across America can live stronger, longer lives.

Source: American Heart Association

CONTACT: Katie Bell, +1-214-706-1345, or Katie.bell@heart.org , or Megan
Lozito, +1-214-706-1359, or Megan.lozito@heart.org , both of American Heart
Association

Web site: http://www.americanheart.org/
http://www.nick.com/letsjustplay
http://www.healthiergeneration.org/

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