Researchers have found that children with high blood cholesterol levels may benefit from reducing fat and cholesterol in their diets without affecting their normal adolescent development. In a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute study conducted at six sites, including UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, children who adopted a recommended low fat, low cholesterol diet decreased their intake of total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol within the first year of the seven year study and maintained lower levels for several more years. The final results of the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC) are published in the February issue of Pediatrics.

Investigators evaluated the effects of dietary modification in 663 children between the ages of 8 and 10 and tracked their growth, nutritional status and sexual maturation throughout the study. The results showed that the diet helped children significantly lower their blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol, for up to three years. Participants were borderline to high in cholesterol levels (111.5 mg/dL or higher for boys and 117.5 mg/dL or higher for girls). They were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which received dietary counseling, or the "usual care" group.

"The study confirmed that dietary alterations in children with high levels of LDL cholesterol lead to changes that have the potential to prevent atherosclerosis and have no adverse effects," says Norman Lasser, MD, director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at the medical school.