Many parents don't think about their children having high cholesterol but the truth is some experts believe that high cholesterol in kids is a major under-reported public health problem.

Often times one trait signals pediatricians like Eric Jones to look into a child's cholesterol levels. "If you're on the obese side, a lot of times we'll go ahead and send you for a cholesterol screening, especially if there's a family history of high cholesterol or sudden cardiac death."

But for some kids---like Mary Garcia's son--- they're not obese and yet their cholesterol is still high. "My son's not heavy at all. He's very energetic; he's in baseball."

A simple blood test can be performed to determined if your child's cholesterol level is high; if it is by changing their diet and reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol taken in, you can lower those numbers without adversely their development. Mary says, "I didn't totally take him off of McDonald's, but I try not to take my kids to those as much. And milk-wise I went down to 2% and thank God he doesn't have it anymore."

Dr. Jones says, "Anything that's got the fatty acids or is cooked in oil basically is going to be terrible for cholesterol. So all the French fries, the chicken nuggets, the hamburgers, those kinds of things, pizza, the cheeses tend to be high cholesterol foods."

High cholesterol medication is only considered for children over age 10 after changes in diet and exercise have been tried but haven't had the desired effect. If high cholesterol runs in your family you may want to talk to your children's pediatrician about getting them tested.

And 90% of parents whose children have high cholesterol have high levels themselves. So this makes treatment for lowering cholesterol levels a family affair.