Couch potato six year olds already showing signs of ill health

Children as young as six who spend a lot of time in front of the television or using a computer are already showing early signs of heart disease and high blood pressure, claims study. Researchers found that every extra hour in front of a screen could be correlated with a 10 per cent increase in blood pressure later in life. The scientists discovered that children who spent more time watching television had narrower arteries at the back of their eyes – a marker of future cardiovascular disease risk. Results also showed that children who spent an hour or more each day outside playing had "significantly" wider arteries than those who spent 30 minutes or less doing the same. The retinal arteries of children who did the most physical activity were found to be 2.2 thousandth of a millimetre wider on average than those who had the most "screen time". Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia, looked at 1,492 six and seven year-old kids at 34 primary schools across Sydney. The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the journal of the American Heart Association