WAPO: Early start to healthy lifestyle key

This WAPO article reports on a study published in the February edition of Circulation which suggests that it is important to focus on the prevention of heart disease early in life, rather than waiting until middle age when the risk factors are more clearly established. The article offers sound health advice and facts including the following: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of serious illness and death in the USA. Aggressively treating cardiovascular risk factors at an early age is the approach most likely to benefit America's health profile. One should attempt to modify their risk factors as early as possible. Risk of developing cardiovascular disease is directly tied to specific risk factors of smoking, being overweight and sedentary. Cessation of smoking and weight control are the two risk factors easiest to modify. While the article's focus is "early prevention," it is a great recap of useful health advice in general. The article does not mention the waist hip ratio measure, which is thought by many to be a better predictor of the risk of cardiovascular disease than weight alone (BMI.)