METHODS The results of recent systematic review s are discussed and supplemented with relevant literature not included in these review s. PubMed was search ed for the years 2006 - 2011 for additional topics not sufficiently covered by the review s. RESULTS PA was associated with lower blood pressure and a healthier lipid blood profile in children .
The association was stronger when a composite risk factor score was analysed , and the associations between physical fitness and cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) risk factors were even stronger .
Muscle strength and endurance exercise each had an effect on blood lipids and insulin sensitivity even if the effect was smaller for muscle strength than for aerobic exercise .
New evidence suggests possible effects of PA  on C-reactive protein .
CONCLUSION There is accumulating evidence that PA can have beneficial effects on the risk factors of CVD in children .
BACKGROUND A number of recent systematic review s have result ed in changes in international recommendations for children 's participation in physical activity ( PA ) for health .
The World Health Authority ( WHO ) has recently released new recommendations .
The WHO still recommends 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) , but also emphasises that these minutes should be on top of everyday physical activities .
Everyday physical activities total around 30 min of MVPA in the quintile of the least active children , which means that the new recommendations constitute more activity in total compared with earlier recommendations .
OBJECTIVE To summarise evidence justifying new PA recommendation for cardiovascular health in children .
Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular risk in children: a cross-sectional study (The European Youth Heart Study)
BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis develops from early childhood ; physical activity could positively affect this process . This study 's aim was to assess the associations of objective ly measured physical activity with clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children and derive guidelines on the basis of this analysis . METHODS We did a cross-sectional study of 1732 r and omly selected 9-year-old and 15-year-old school children from Denmark , Estonia , and Portugal . Risk factors included in the composite risk factor score ( mean of Z scores ) were systolic blood pressure , triglyceride , total cholesterol/HDL ratio , insulin resistance , sum of four skinfolds , and aerobic fitness . Individuals with a risk score above 1 SD of the composite variable were defined as being at risk . Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry . FINDINGS Odds ratios for having clustered risk for ascending quintiles of  physical activity  ( counts per min ; cpm ) were 3.29 ( 95 % CI 1.96 - 5.52 ) , 3.13 ( 1.87 - 5.25 ) , 2.51 ( 1.47 - 4.26 ) , and 2.03 ( 1.18 - 3.50 ) , respectively , compared with the most active quintile . The first to the third quintile of physical activity had a raised risk in all analyses . The mean time spent above 2000 cpm in the fourth quintile was 116 min per day in 9-year-old and 88 min per day in 15-year-old children . INTERPRETATION  Physical activity  levels should be higher than the current international guidelines of at least 1 h per day of physical activity of at least moderate intensity to prevent clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors
METHODS The results of recent systematic review s are discussed and supplemented with relevant literature not included in these review s. PubMed was search ed for the years 2006 - 2011 for additional topics not sufficiently covered by the review s. RESULTS PA was associated with lower blood pressure and a healthier lipid blood profile in children .
The association was stronger when a composite risk factor score was analysed , and the associations between physical fitness and cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) risk factors were even stronger .
Muscle strength and endurance exercise each had an effect on blood lipids and insulin sensitivity even if the effect was smaller for muscle strength than for aerobic exercise .
New evidence suggests possible effects of PA  on C-reactive protein .
CONCLUSION There is accumulating evidence that PA can have beneficial effects on the risk factors of CVD in children .
BACKGROUND A number of recent systematic review s have result ed in changes in international recommendations for children 's participation in physical activity ( PA ) for health .
The World Health Authority ( WHO ) has recently released new recommendations .
The WHO still recommends 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) , but also emphasises that these minutes should be on top of everyday physical activities .
Everyday physical activities total around 30 min of MVPA in the quintile of the least active children , which means that the new recommendations constitute more activity in total compared with earlier recommendations .
OBJECTIVE To summarise evidence justifying new PA recommendation for cardiovascular health in children .