Obese Kids as Young as Three Have Raised CRP

Fat parents = fat kids. Fat kids = nutritional child abuse.

A new study has found that abnormal levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and two other inflammatory markers are associated with increasing weight in children, starting at a young age. Dr Asheley Cockrell Skinner (University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill) and colleagues' findings are published online March 1, 2010 in Pediatrics.

"We found this is a remarkably consistent story, and it starts as young as age three, something that was surprising to us," senior author Dr Eliana M Perrin (University of North Carolina School of Medicine) told heartwire . "But whether this portends increased cardiac risk down the road, we don't know. We also don't know if the effects are cumulative or whether they are reversible with weight loss or lifestyle changes. More research is needed."

Perrin says although other studies have shown a link between abnormal CRP levels and obesity in children, this is, to her knowledge, the first to look at multiple inflammatory markers in children at such a young age and from a large representative US sample.

Kudos, fatsos = child abusers.