The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has broadened its guidelines for cholesterol screening in children, according to this report from Reuters Health. The APP recommends cholesterol screening guidelines for children as young as two years of age, if there is a family or personal history of obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes.

The AAP also recommends prescribing statin drugs for children over 8 years of age who are shown to have high LDL (‘bad‘) cholesterol levels. The report states that the first goal should be to lower bad cholesterol levels to below 160 mg, or even as low as 110 milligrams in children with a family history of heart disease or other risk factors, such as obesity.

The AAP also recommends reduced or non-fat dairy options for children as young as 12 months old with high cholesterol or with risk factors such as obesity and diabetes in the family. Because I’m sure it’s all the milk and yogurt that is making today’s kids fat not sugar-laden cereals, fast food and soft drinks.

Forgive my sarcasm, but I can’t help but wonder if the extended screening guidelines are primarily an attempt by big pharma to expand the market for statin drugs. After all, as fellow Babies Online blogger Science-Mom reported at PharMed News, by 2011 the prescription drug industry could show negative growth for the first time in history.

With the pharmaceutical giants facing pressure from successful alternative medicine treatments tighter drug regulations and competition from generics, it makes sense to cast a wider net for prescription drugs and focus on raising a new generation of consumers who believe the solutions to all of life’s ills lie in little blue, purple or pink pills.

It’s a lot easier for parents - and more profitable for the drug companies - to prescribe medication than it is to instill healthy eating habits and promote daily exercise for youngsters. Why tell kids to turn off the Xbox and go outside and play, or stress that McDonalds is not one of the four food groups, when they can take a pill for the rest of their lives, instead?

It may take a bit more work to change your family’s lifestyle into one that promotes activity and certainly, eating healthy means spending a bit more time reading labels at the grocery store and planning meals that include natural, whole grain foods and fruits and vegetables. But isn’t it worth it to raise children who can grow up prescription drug-free?

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