Barcelona - Overweight children do not only risk becoming sick adults, but may develop health problems in childhood, according to a study made public on Tuesday.

Overweight children risked developing pathological changes which contributed to the appearance of an early form of arteriosclerotic vascular disease, according to the study by scientists at Leipzig University in Germany.

The researchers studied 80 overweight and 60 normal-weight children aged 12 years. Their findings were disclosed to a congress of the European Society of Cardiology in the north-eastern Spanish city of Barcelona.

Kindergartens, schools and parents needed to cooperate to guarantee that children developed healthy eating habits and got enough physical exercise, project leader Sandra Erbs recommended.