A preliminary study of hyperlipidemia in Bangkok school children

As a preliminary study, we determined the serum lipid profiles among primary school children from four Bangkok schools and identified the risk factors and their association with child lipid profiles. We conducted a cross-sectional study using fasting blood samples and food frequency questionnaires. Overall, there were 40% that had hypercholesterolemia with total cholesterol (TC) at > or = 200 mg/dl and high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at > or = 130 mg/dl. Overall, 5.4% had high triglyceride (TG) levels at > or = 150 mg/dl. There was no association between lipid profiles and age, gender or nutritional status, except that higher TG levels were found among obese children than others (p < 0.001). The most popular high fat foods were fried chicken, sausages and cakes, in order of preference. Results from this study indicate that Bangkok public primary school children are facing a problem with hyperlipidemia. Build up discipline in healthy eating habits, healthy food choices and physical exercise should pave the way to healthy Thai kids and growing adults with better quality of life.