People with persistent high blood pressure or 'hypertension' could benefit from playing football regularly, new research suggests.
Almost one in three British men are thought to have hypertension, placing them at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Researchers at the universities of Exeter and Copenhagen and Gentofte University Hospital in Denmark recruited 33 men, aged 33 to 54, with mild to moderate hypertension.
Half of the participants took two hour-long football training sessions each week for six months, while the others received standard GP care.
The researchers found that three-quarters of the men who took football training had normal blood pressure readings after six months.
On average, football players reduced their mean blood pressure by 10mmHg, compared with just 5mmHg for those who did not play.
Football was also associated with improvements in maximal oxygen uptake, maximal exercise capacity, resting heart rate and body fat mass.
Lead researcher Professor Peter Krustrup, whose findings are published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, concluded: 'Playing soccer scores a hat trick for men with hypertension: it reduces blood pressure, improves fitness and burns fat.'