Researchers at the University of Leipzig Heart Center in Germany found early physical and functional signs of future heart problems in obese children.

For the study, the researchers used two-dimensional echocardiography on 61 obese children and 40 non-obese children aged between 9 and 16 years. The echocardiogram uses ultrasound to provide cross sectional images of the beating heart and assessment of blood flow through the valves and chambers of the heart. The researchers also conducted extensive blood chemistry analysis.

They found changes in the shape and function in the hearts of the obese children as compared to the non-obese ones. Plus, obese children had significantly higher blood pressure, higher levels of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and lower amounts of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol). Obese children were also associated with reduced diastolic function, enlarged heart chambers signs of increased cardiac workload, and other unfavorable conditions.

"Children are ideal subjects to observe the effect of obesity on the heart," said the study's lead author Norman Mangner of the Heart Center Leipzig. "This is because they are likely free of clinically relevant cardiovascular disease adults may suffer from."

Mangner said that further studies are required to determine whether such unfavourable changes are reversible with weight loss and other methodologies.

The finding is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

A recent University of Virginia study found that children who quickly gain weight at a younger age are more likely to be associated with higher blood pressure and other signs of future heart troubles as soon as they enter their teens.

Previous studies showed that children who put on weight during early childhood are more likely to be obese later in life.

"There's a natural tendency early in life for children to thin out as they grow taller and gain stature faster than they gain weight," Dr. Mark D. DeBoer said, Reuters reports.