On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics came forward with some rather surprising guidance. For the first time ever, the Academy advised people to give eight-year-olds cholesterol-fighting drugs in order to prevent future heart conditions.

According to Dr. Stephen Daniels, member of the academy's nutrition committee, the new advice is the result of recently-compiled information showing that heart disease (the number one killer in the US), although usually affecting elderly people, actually begins very early in life.

The treatment generally targets kids showing too much LDL (the so-called bad cholesterol), obesity or high blood presure. Overweight kids with too little HDL (or the so-called good cholesterol) were mentioned as well; they were advised to lose weight, engage themselves more in physical activities and get qualified nutritional counseling.

The academy went on to tell pediatricians to perform routine check-ups for children coming from families with histories of cholesterol-related conditions.

The new announcement comes to modify a previous advice that recommended cholesterol drugs to be used only for those at least aged ten, after they fail to lose weight.

As obesity is usually associated with cholesterol problems, the academy also advised parents to feed their one-year-olds low-fat milk.

According to Dr. Jennifer Li, a Duke University children's heart specialist, as overweight-related problems appear with one third of the US children population, the new recommendations are quite important.