Study finds childhood fitness reduces long-term cardiovascular risks of childhood obesity

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/uog-sfc052416.php

Public Release: 24-May-2016
Study finds childhood fitness reduces long-term cardiovascular risks of childhood obesity
University of Georgia

A new study from a group of international researchers has identified a potentially effective tool to reduce the long-term health risks of childhood obesity--aerobic exercise.

In a study published in the early online edition of the International Journal of Obesity, researchers at the University of Georgia, the Menzies Institute for Medical Research in Hobart, Australia, and the George Institute for Global Health at Oxford University found that higher aerobic fitness in childhood, independent of abdominal fat, reduced the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in early adulthood by 36 percent compared to those with lower childhood fitness levels.

Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of key cardiovascular disease risk factors and is associated with an increased risk of subsequent coronary artery disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.

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