Young children who do little exercise could already be showing signs of future heart problems, according to new research.

In the small study, 223 children had their physical activity levels measured over four days.

Measurements were also taken of their resting heart rate, body fat, fitness and blood pressure.

The results showed that children who were the most active, and who took part in moderate or vigorous exercise, had a lower risk of factors that could cause future heart disease than those who took less exercise.

The children were aged 9.8 on average, with an age range of 7.9 to 11.1 years.

“It is well known that physical inactivity in adults is associated with a wide range of diseases and all causes of death”, said lead author Tina Tanha, from Skane University Hospital in Sweden.

“We believe that our study now demonstrates a clear clinical association between physical inactivity and multiple CVD risk factors in children.”

The children in the study wore an accelerator belt – which can measure things like speed, distance and calories – for a minimum of eight hours a day for three days.

Dr Tanha said: “Our results show a significant association between low levels of activity and high composite risk factors for CVD, even in young child-ren.

“Much of the association was driven by body fat measurements and oxygen intake.

“This is important because the accumulation of these risk factors, if started in early childhood and sustained over a long period, is believed to have greater impact on CVD and mortality than one single risk factor.”

The research was published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.

Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Heart and circulatory disease is something that affects adults, not children, so it’s difficult to predict the risk of a child developing this later in life.

“However, the benefits of being physically active at any age are well established with studies showing it can prevent children from developing diseases later on in life, as well as improving their concentration at school, their overall mental health and wellbeing.

“This study reinforces the need to incorporate the recommended target of 60 minutes’ physical activity into children’s daily lives.”