Identifying and reversing risks of heart disease in children

‘Oxfordshire Sedentariness, Obesity & Cardiometabolic Risk in Adolescents – a Trial of Exercise of in Schools’

Obesity and physical inactivity are becoming more common in children and are major risk factors for heart and circulatory diseases. Although we may not see the effects until children get older, we know that disease processes begin in childhood, and there is opportunity to prevent them at this point. Dr Jones has previously identified some new ways to measure risk factors for heart and circulatory diseases in young people that may be better than existing methods. In this fellowship, he will use sophisticated medical scans and blood tests to compare these measurements in physically inactive children (obese or normal weight) to those who are physically fit. The study will reveal how early risk factors for heart disease (such as high amounts of fat in the liver and muscle, and resistance to insulin) affects the heart and circulatory system in children. It will also test whether these effects can be reversed in children by six-weeks of supervised exercise, compared with those who only had low activity. The results will provide essential insights for developing new ways to prevent heart and circulatory disease in children that do not solely focus on weight-loss.