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 .
Low cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor for clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children independent of country, age and sex
Background and design Few studies have investigated the association between maximal cardiorespiratory capacity ( fitness ) and the clustered cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) risk in children and youth from culturally diverse countries . This cross-sectional study examined the association between fitness and clustered CVD risk in children and adolescents from three European countries . Methods Participants were 2845 r and omly selected school children aged 9 or 15 years from Portugal ( n = 944 ) , Denmark ( n = 849 ) and Estonia ( n = 1052 ) .  Cardiorespiratory fitness was determined during a maximal test on a cycle ergometer . CVD risk factors selected to assess the degree of clustering were the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio , plasma triglycerides , insulin resistance ( homeostasis model assessment ) , sum of four skinfolds , and systolic blood pressure . Results There was a strong association between cardiorespiratory fitness and the clustering of CVD risk factors . The odds ratios for clustering in each quartile of fitness , using the quartile with the highest fitness as reference , were 13.0 [ 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) 8.8 - 19.1 ] ; 4.8 ( 95 % CI 3.2 - 7.1 ) and 2.5 ( 95 % CI 1.6 - 3.8 ) , respectively , after adjusting for country , age , sex , socio-economic status , pubertal stage , family history of CVD and diabetes . In stratified analyses by age group , sex and country , similar strong patterns were observed . Conclusion Low cardiorespiratory fitness is strongly associated with the clustering of CVD risk factors in children independent of country , age and sex
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 .