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Healthy eating and positive psychosocial factors during childhood are predictors of ideal cardiovascular health in adulthood, a new study reveals.

Children who grow up in families that eat healthy, balanced meals and focus on maintaining an active lifestyle are shown to carry over these habits into adulthood. Additionally, children who are raised in emotionally healthy environments are better at controlling aggressiveness and impulsiveness in adulthood, as well.

In order to examine children’s well-being and family life, the researchers initially began the project with 3,577 children ranging in age from 3-18 years. The researchers focused on six measures: socioeconomic status, emotional stability, parental health behaviors, stressful life events, self-regulation of behavioral problems, and social adjustment. Twenty-seven years later, the researchers assessed 1,089 of the original participants when they were 30-45 years old to determine their “ideal cardiovascular health” levels.

According to the American Health Association’s Life’s Simple 7, “ideal cardiovascular health” is defined as being active, controlling cholesterol, eating healthy, controlling one’s blood pressure, losing weight, reducing blood sugar levels, and refraining from smoking tobacco. The researchers used “Life’s Simple 7” to determine participants’ health levels.

The results revealed that favorable socioeconomic conditions, self-regulatory behavior, and healthy habits during childhood were the strongest predictors of ideal cardiovascular health in adulthood.

Key findings from this study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, revealed children who had the most psychosocial advantages in childhood had:

• 14% greater chance of maintaining a healthy weight as an adult
• 12% greater chance of being a non-smoker as an adult
• 11% greater chance of maintain a healthy glucose level as an adult

The choices parents make for their children regarding their health can have long-term effects. Even small improvements to children’s eating habits and physical activity levels can have measurable benefits when they reach adulthood. Therefore, parents and caregivers should keep in mind that it is much easier to help children make healthy choices now than it is for them to break unhealthy habits later in life.

Neurons note:

journal reference:

Pulkki-Råback, Laura et al. 2015. “Cumulative Effect of Psychosocial Factors in Youth on Ideal Cardiovascular Health in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.” Circulation (early release).

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