Children who spend more than two hours a day watching television are much more likely to have high blood pressure, a new study has found.

International researchers analysed data relating to more than 5,200 children living in eight European countries, including Germany, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Estonia.

At the start of the study, all of the children were aged between two and 10 years.

The researchers found that children who were sedentary in front of a television set, a computer or a games console for at least two hours every day had a 30% increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

"High blood pressure can cause cardiovascular problems later in life. For example, it increases the risk of ischemic heart disease," the researchers noted.

They said that in order to reduce this risk, young people should be physically active for at least one hour every day, and sedentary activities should last no longer than two hours per day.

Details of these findings are published in the International Journal of Cardiology.