Effects of a School-Based Cross-Curricular Physical Activity Intervention on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in 11–14 Year Olds

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered the leading cause of premature death (<75 years) in the United Kingdom (British Heart Foundation, 2010). It is widely accepted that the underlying mechanism to CVD, namely atherosclerosis, has its genesis in childhood (Berenson et al., 1998). A number of risk factors have been identified for the early detection of CVD, many of which are thought to be influenced by physical activity (PA) (Strong et al., 2005).