Researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children’s Hospital Boston said that this 25 percent prevalence is similar to the rate found in the general population but the health risks from obesity are added to the children’s separate risks from their underlying heart disease.

Primary investigator Dr. Nelangi M. Pinto, from the University of Utah but at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia during the study, said children with congenital heart disease may have unique risk factors that could contribute to the development of obesity.

The researchers reviewed the medical records from a sample of 2,921 patients between ages 6 and 19 years treated at a hospital for cardiology outpatient care -- of which 1,523 children had either acquired or congenital heart disease.

The study, published in Pediatrics, found among the children with heart disease, those with heart transplants, rhythm problems and mild heart disease had a similar prevalence of obesity to the clinic control group -- about 25 percent.