Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to reduce heart disease in Germany with several building blocks . This should be achieved through prevention and regular checks. The cabinet introduced a bill that provides additional options for early detection at health insurance costs. Adolescents aged 12 to 14 and adults should be invited to laboratory tests and risk analyses. In addition, medications that lower blood lipid levels and help people quit smoking should be easier to prescribe. We therefore hope that these measures that we decided today in the Federal Cabinet will improve life expectancy in Germany. This is one of the few laws that can actually be made, in addition to hospital reform, for example. B. to improve life expectancy in Germany. We don't have a good life expectancy, both East and West, and that's a huge problem that hasn't been solved for years. The pediatrician Dr. is now involved. Martin Karsten. Mr. Dr. Karsten, I greet you, have a nice day. The first thing that stands out is that children aged 12 to 14 are included in these preventive examinations. Why? Are many children in Germany suffering from heart disease? Many children in Germany do not have heart disease, but the risk factors that we as pediatricians see again and again are, of course, obesity, lack of exercise and unhealthy diet. And in my opinion these three points need to be addressed. What is certainly relatively pointless is that people immediately talk about medication. These statins, which are very common in adults, have no evidence at all in children. And we actually really see high fat levels, cholesterol levels at that age, primarily in congenital hypercholesterolemia, but that's maybe 1 percent. The majority of children and young people who come to us at this age and have problems are overweight. And I would be more interested if there were laws that would make sport a great asset again. It simply cannot be the case that physical education classes are canceled in schools and that sports clubs are only accessible if families have enough money. That should be addressed, and of course the broad issue of nutrition. Many children still come to practice with bottles of iced tea or other sweet drinks. A lot more preventative measures should be taken so that the children don't become overweight in the first place and have the problems that come with it. And of course there is a risk of developing heart disease later on. I can hear a bit of dissatisfaction from you. But to what extent can this law help ensure that cardiovascular diseases in children and young people are detected earlier? I think there are general precautions at that age. There is the so-called youth prevention, the J1, and in the past - that was probably 10 or 15 years ago - fat levels were generally determined, but then you saw that this only hits the tip of the iceberg. As pediatricians, we primarily try to provide prevention. So, we want to ensure that children don't have too high fat levels in the first place and get into the problems of developing cardiovascular disease later on. For pediatricians who are very behind, there are youth provisions at this age. And what I would urgently warn against is that before you have any evidence, that is, you really know that giving children medication from the outset is successful - that's actually not up for debate. It has to be said again and again that today 15 to 20 percent of children are overweight, and many of them are also obese. That's the huge problem and I think that's where the focus should be. If Lauterbach had done more, e.g. B. that there are better sports facilities, better physical education, and - I always say, you also saw it at the Olympic Games - sport is no longer a cultural asset in Germany. There are so many young people - I have a practice in a good area of Berlin - who are not in sports clubs, who don't play sports. And that can't be the case. I always believe that children and young people need to move and do sports. This is the best Prevention for cardiovascular diseases. And of course get away from all this sugar consumption. The state should intervene, there should certainly be higher taxes, and there should be a lot more warning about the enormous sugar consumption that our children still have, says pediatrician Dr. Martin Karsten. Thank you for the conversation. Thank you very much. Yes, here you go.