Children and teenagers, it is time to quit the screens and keep your feet moving. A latest study has found that a sedentary lifestyle during childhood increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes later in life.

Researchers found that the shortage of physical activity in childhood raised heart attack risks later in life, even in those with normal weight and blood pressure.

“All those hours of screen time in young people add as much as a heavier heart, which we all know from studies in adults raises the likelihood of heart attack and stroke. Children and teenagers must move more to guard their long-term health,” said study creator Dr. Andrew Agbaje, of the University of Eastern Finland.

The team evaluated 766 children and asked them to wear a smartwatch with an activity tracker for seven days after they were 11 years old. The identical study was repeated when the participants were 15 and 24. The kids were sedentary for a median of 362 minutes a day after they were 11 years old. This increased by a median of 169 minutes as they reached young maturity (24).

“Children were sedentary for greater than six hours a day, and this increased by nearly three hours a day by the point they reached young maturity,” Agbaje said.

When the participants were 17 and 24, the researchers assessed the load of their heart’s left ventricle using echocardiography, a form of ultrasound scan. They then analyzed the association between the extent of inactivity during 11 to 24 years of age and heart measurements between 17 and 24 years after adjusting other aspects resembling smoking, body fat and blood pressure.

“Our study indicates that the buildup of inactive time is expounded to heart damage no matter body weight and blood pressure,” Agbaje noted.

The findings suggest that a one-minute increase in sedentary time between the ages of 11 and 24 ends in a 0.004 g/m increase in left ventricular mass between 17 to 24.

“Parents should encourage children and teenagers to maneuver more by taking them out for a walk and limiting time spent on social media and video games. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘For those who cannot fly, run. For those who cannot run, walk. For those who cannot walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving,'” he added.

Published by Medicaldaily.com