To prevent more Americans from acquiring adult heart problems, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends more cholesterol screening for young people and earlier use of cholesterol-lowering medication.

The recommendation, issued by the academy on Monday, is expected to generate controversy since there is a question on the safety of prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs for children and on what are the best approaches to prevent heart diseases upon reaching adulthood

A new study has linked low levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL) or the good cholesterol in middle age to the risk of memory loss that can lead to dementia later in life.

Researchers at University College London and the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (the French equivalent of the U.S. National Institutes of health) conducted by Dr. Archana Singh-Manoux measured good HDL cholesterol levels of 3,673 55-year-old British civil servants and asked them to memorize 20 words as part of short-term memory test

Women who gorge on junk food while pregnant could raise the risk of their offspring developing irreversible health problems such as obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes in adult life, according to new research.

Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College here carried out their study involving rats but scientists believe it also applies to humans. Rats that ate a diet rich in fat, sugar and salt while pregnant were more likely to give birth to offspring that had the tendency to over-eat and had a preference for junk food when compared to the offspring of rats given regular feed

There is a prevalence of parasitic diseases among poor urban families in the U.S., according to Dr. Peter Hotez of the George Washington University. Other ailments like dengue fever and Chagas disease associated with developing nations may also become more common in America due to climate changes.

While these ailments do not claim lives, they negatively affect the development of a child, his intellectual development, hearing and could cause heart disease. As the malady affects poor people, it perpetuates their state of poverty since the infections could last for years or lifetimes

Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes and another 57 million are estimated to have pre-diabetes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.

Based on data from 2007, CDC said the number is roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population and represents an increase of about 3 million over two years