The Year in Medicine 2008

With obesity rates among youngsters remaining high, the American Academy of Pediatrics took a drastic step by recommending cholesterol-testing for kids as young as 2. The move is targeted at children whose families have a history of elevated cholesterol and who might benefit from cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. Some doctors view the move as a defense against the possibility of a generation of unhealthy kids living shorter lives than their parents did. Others worry that the policy could expand the use of statins to kids without giving them the chance to make tough changes in the behaviors that led to their weight and cholesterol problems in the first place.