Relation of Diet to Heart Disease Risk Factors in Children

From interested participants (children and parents) we will obtain: 1. Informed consent 2. Anthropometric measurements - height, weight, waist and hip circumference, blood pressure, % body fat by bioimpedance (Tanita scale). 3. Health History Questionnaire 4. Food Frequency Questionnaire 5. Fasting blood sample- We will collect a total of 40 ml of blood (less than 3 ml/kg for the entire study). The blood samples will be used to measure triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, glucose, insulin, apoA1, apoB, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein subfraction analysis by ion mobility, DNA for inclusion in our DNA biobank, choline, TMAO and other metabolites related to heart disease risk. Standard Blood sampling: Using standard blood collection procedures, blood samples will be collected from participants after a 12-14 hour fast. The blood will be collected in tubes containing the following preservative solution: 3.0 gms EDTA (dipotassium), 1.7 mg P-Pack, 0.15 gms gentamycin sulfate, 0.15 gms chloramphenicol, 5.96 mls aprotinin (Sigma A-6279), and 0.30 gms sodium azide all of which are diluted to 20mls with doubly deionized water. Plasma is separated by immediate centrifugation at 4°C. Lipid and lipoprotein measurements are performed and aliquots of plasma are frozen for future analyses.