Preschool children's physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk: A systematic review.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Higher physical activity (PA) levels in adults are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk, however it is unclear whether this association is evident in children younger than five years. Given that cardiovascular disease has early life origins, this study systematically reviews evidence of associations between PA and cardiovascular disease risk factors among children aged 3-5.5years. DESIGN: Systematic review. METHOD: A systematic search of multiple data bases was conducted to identify published papers reporting associations between any measure of PA and cardiovascular disease risk factors. INCLUSION CRITERIA: English language; peer-reviewed; original quantitative resea..