London: A number of today`s children are putting themselves at risk of developing heart disease later in life by not exercising enough, says a new study.
Swedish researchers who looked at 223 children whose average age was just under 10, found that those who exercised the least had more body fat and a higher resting pulse rate than those who exercised the most.
Girls in particular could be jeopardising their future health by not exercising sufficiently, the findings revealed.
While boys averaged 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day, girls did only 35. Of that time, boys spent 15 minutes in vigorous exercise but girls only 11.
The researchers at Skane University Hospital in Malmo, Sweden, also found that girls had a higher proportion of body fat than boys - 22.6 per cent compared to 16.2 per cent. But, by another measure of fatness, body mass index (BMI), there was no real difference.
Nonetheless, the girls had a higher average resting heart rate than the boys, 85 compared to 80, British newspaper `The Daily Telegraph` reported.
PTI
