The advent of risk factors in children/teens for serious health conditions—and their increasing recognition by parents, health professionals and the media—are driving a new, diverse and fast-emerging market opportunity as yet untapped by the functional food and dietary supplement industries. Although parents are grappling with several health issues today, it will likely be heart heath—America’s #1 health concern—that leads the way into the kid’s condition-specific segment. One in eight children already have two or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), 10% of teens have high cholesterol, and the incidence of high blood pressure (HBP) in children has nearly tripled over the past decade.

Market Potential

According to Sloan Trends’ TrendSense model, kids’ heart health, followed by blood pressure and cholesterol, have quietly become sustainable, long-term U.S. mass-market opportunities and, with continuing growth in medical/nutrition research activity, they’re poised for acceleration.

As evidenced by a significant increase in the Medical “kids and blood pressure” trend line in 2004, “Trends in Blood Pressure among Children and Adolescents” appeared in the May issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) quantified the rise in blood pressure in children and released new diagnostic procedures and standards in its “4th Report on High Blood Pressure Education Program.”

Another noteworthy increase occurred in 2007, when a new NHLBI report, an article in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation, and an article in the Washington Post brought kids’ heart disease risk factors to the forefront and confirmed child hypertension as a “major public health problem.” Also, in Dec. 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made blood pressure screening part of a child’s annual exam at age 3. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which sued the FDA in 2005 to reduce the sodium level in foods, finally saw hearings by FDA officials in 2007. AHA confirmed heart disease risk was established at an early age and that lower fat diets could help reduce cholesterol in children. The culmination of these major events resulted in a large boost in the Consumer TrendSense trend line in 2007.