Obesity Prevention Programs Help Children Lower Blood Pressure Levels

Focusing on the obesity epidemic in the country, particularly among America's youth, a recent study examines how obesity programs may not always be able to help children reduce fat levels, but will help with lowering blood pressure.

According to lead study author and epidemiologist Youfa Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Buffalo and other researchers from Johns Hopkins University, they discovered that results showed favorable signs on both lowering fat as well as reduction in high blood pressure levels.

Wang noted the following, courtesy of a press release, "Of the 28 obesity interventions with complete data that we analyzed, 13 (46 percent) had a favorable effect on both adiposity and BP and 11 interventions (39 percent) had a significant effect on the reduction of BP, even if they did not affect adiposity.

"It is important to identify obesity intervention programs that can help children develop healthy lifestyles and keep BP at an optimal level," he added, via the release, "because these programs help them avoid many long-term health consequences."

Wang's team is currently working on projects in the United States and abroad that are funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which aim to assess the additional benefits of obesity prevention programs for children and to help make those programs as effective as possible.

This study "was built upon previous comprehensive research led by Wang at Hopkins and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which resulted in an 835-page full report published by AHRQ in June 2013," according to the release, with an aim to learn about what worked in these preventative programs.

More than 130 studies were examined between 1985 and 2013, all conducted  in high-income counties worldwide.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via here.