London: Walking to one's school could reduce the risk of heart attack later in life.

Children who walk down to school have lower stress levels and even smaller rises in blood pressure and heart rate while taking an exam than children who are driven to school.

Changes in heart rate and blood pressure due to stress are linked to heart disease in children and the dangerous build-up of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances in artery walls among adults, reports the Daily Express.

Prof. James Roemmich of the University at Buffalo, US, who led the study, said, "If children walked or biked, it would put them in a protective state against causes of stress they face during the school day."

The study surveyed 20 boys and 20 girls aged between 10 and 14 years, says the journal Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise.

Half the group sat in a chair and watched a slide show of being driven to school. The other half walked a mile on a treadmill.

The rise in blood pressure was more than three times higher and the change in stress twice as high among those who did not walk. IANS