The Effects of California Strawberries on Parameters of Cardiovascular Health

The prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing over the past couple of decades. Similar to adults, overweight and obesity in young children and adolescents is associated with an increased number of cardiovascular risk factors including dyslipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that foods and ingredients rich in select flavonoids, such as cocoa, red grape products, tea, citrus fruits, and strawberries are protective against the development of cardiovascular disease. Strawberries are rich in flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, ellagic acid and its glucose ester, ellagitanin. A number of in vitro studies have observed that these isolated compounds, as well as strawberry extracts have the potential to affect outcomes of cardiovascular health, including vascular reactivity, cellular signaling and oxidant defense6,7. We hypothesize that strawberry intake will lead to improvements in select measures of cardiovascular function in overweight and obese adolescent males.