The findings suggest that parents need to get their children to be more physically active and they can lead the way by doing so themselves.
Young children who spend too much time watching TV, using a computer or playing video games have narrower eye arteries, a marker of future cardiovascular risk, than children who are more physically active.
Retinal microvascular caliber is a marker for cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure in adults. It is not clear whether physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect retinal microvascular caliber.
To investigate associations among physical activity, sedentary behaviours (including screen time, television viewing and computer and videogame usage), and retinal microvascular caliber in schoolchildren, researchers evaluated 1,492 six-year-olds in Sydney, tracking the hours they spent in both physical activity and sedentary pursuits. The researchers took digital photos of the vasculature in the back of each child's eye and calculated the average vessel width.
Overall, children spent a daily average of 1.9 hours in screen time and 36 minutes in physical activity. It was found that kids who spent more than one and a half hours in screen time were more likely to have adverse effects on the retinal vessels. Children who spent more than an hour in daily outside activity had 2.3 microns wider average retinal vessels than those spending less than half an hour or less outside. The magnitude of narrowing associated with each hour of screen time was similar to that associated with a rise of 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) increase in systolic blood pressure (the top number) in children.
Children with a high level of physical activity had a more beneficial microvascular profile compared to those with the lowest levels of physical activity, which suggests that unhealthy lifestyle factors may influence microcirculation early in life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension later in life. Excessive screen time leads to less physical activity, unhealthy dietary habits and weight gain. Physical activity enhances endothelial function and increases blood flow resulting in enhanced nitric oxide production, which has a positive effect on the linings of blood vessels.
The findings suggest that parents need to get their children to be more physically active and they can lead the way by doing so themselves. Free play should be promoted and schools should have a mandatory two hours a week in physical activity for children.
Retinal microvascular caliber is a marker for cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure in adults. It is not clear whether physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect retinal microvascular caliber.
To investigate associations among physical activity, sedentary behaviours (including screen time, television viewing and computer and videogame usage), and retinal microvascular caliber in schoolchildren, researchers evaluated 1,492 six-year-olds in Sydney, tracking the hours they spent in both physical activity and sedentary pursuits. The researchers took digital photos of the vasculature in the back of each child's eye and calculated the average vessel width.
Overall, children spent a daily average of 1.9 hours in screen time and 36 minutes in physical activity. It was found that kids who spent more than one and a half hours in screen time were more likely to have adverse effects on the retinal vessels. Children who spent more than an hour in daily outside activity had 2.3 microns wider average retinal vessels than those spending less than half an hour or less outside. The magnitude of narrowing associated with each hour of screen time was similar to that associated with a rise of 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) increase in systolic blood pressure (the top number) in children.
Children with a high level of physical activity had a more beneficial microvascular profile compared to those with the lowest levels of physical activity, which suggests that unhealthy lifestyle factors may influence microcirculation early in life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension later in life. Excessive screen time leads to less physical activity, unhealthy dietary habits and weight gain. Physical activity enhances endothelial function and increases blood flow resulting in enhanced nitric oxide production, which has a positive effect on the linings of blood vessels.
The findings suggest that parents need to get their children to be more physically active and they can lead the way by doing so themselves. Free play should be promoted and schools should have a mandatory two hours a week in physical activity for children.
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