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 .
Modification of risk factors for coronary heart disease. Five-year results of a school-based intervention trial.
We conducted a study of the effectiveness of an educational intervention design ed to modify risk factors associated with coronary heart disease among 3388 children in 37 schools in two demographically dissimilar areas ( the Bronx and Westchester County ) in and around New York City . Schools within each area were r and omly assigned to either intervention or nonintervention groups . In schools targeted for intervention , children in the fourth through eighth grade s were taught a teacher-delivered curriculum focusing on diet , physical activity , and cigarette smoking .  Risk-factor levels were measured in all schools at base line and at four follow-up points . A total of 1769 of the children qualified for analysis of the intervention effect . After five years , the net mean change in plasma levels of total cholesterol was -1.7 mg per deciliter per year ( -0.04 mmol per liter ) ( 95 percent confidence interval , -2.7 to -0.7 mg per deciliter [ -0.07 to -0.02 mmol per liter ] ) in the Westchester County schools , or -8.5 mg per deciliter ( -0.22 mmol per liter ) ( 5.1 percent ) over a period of five years . In the schools in the Bronx , the net mean change was -1.0 mg per deciliter per year ( -0.03 mmol per liter ) ( 95 percent confidence interval , -2.3 to + 0.3 mg per deciliter [ -0.06 to + 0.01 mmol per -2.3 to + 0.3 mg per deciliter [ -0.06 to + 0.01 mmol per liter ] ) , or -5.0 mg per deciliter ( -0.13 mmol per liter ) ( 2.9 percent ) over a period of five years . Favorable trends in dietary intake and health knowledge were also observed , whereas the other targeted risk factors were not significantly altered . If these findings can be replicated , this will suggest that educational programs to modify coronary risk factors are feasible and may have a favorable ( albeit small ) effect on blood levels of cholesterol in children
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 .