Two apples a day keeps the cardiologist away Just two apples a day could help protect women against heart disease by cutting their cholesterol levels, according to new research.. Scientists found apples significantly lowered blood fat levels in postmenopausal women, the group most at risk of heart attacks and strokes. Snacking on the fruit every day for six months slashed cholesterol by almost a quarter. The biggest reduction was seen in low-density lipoprotein, the so-called 'bad' cholesterol that furs up arteries and raises the risk of a life-threatening clot forming near the heart or brain. The findings, by a team of researchers at Florida State University in the US, support previous evidence that apples could be good for the heart. But the latest study suggests they could benefit one of the highest-risk groups Two thirds of obese children show early signs of heart disease: study Two thirds of very obese children are at risk of developing heart disease by age 12, a study has found.. A study has found two out of every three severely obese children already have at least one health problem that increases the risk of heart disease. By age 12 they had high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose, according to the study in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. The study was carried out in the Netherlands with data on 500 children collected between 2005 and 2007 with 307 classed as severely obese. The figures could mean that thousands of British children are also affected after experts here warned children as young as seven were being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity. Just over half of these 307 children were boys. They tended to be more severely obese at the younger end of the age spectrum; the reverse was true of girls.. 7-year-olds diagnosed with T2 diabetes Children as young as seven are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is usually associated with the middle-aged and elderly, because of increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, specialists warn today. . Parents are to blame for driving their children to school, feeding them junk food and letting them lounge around for hours, they say. The experts warn that a “tsunami” of diabetes is engulfing the country, but millions are ignorant of the risks they face. Too many have hardly heard of the disease, or believe it is just a “mild” condition, according to a panel convened by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to provide new advice on preventing it. Type 2 diabetes, in which the body gradually loses its ability to produce insulin and tolerate high glucose levels, used to be called ‘mature onset’ diabetes. But panel members said that label could no longer be used due to growing numbers of youngsters being diagnosed with it.