Obese Youths Suffer a 6-Fold Increased Risk of Hypertension

A team of researchers has found that young obese people face a 6-fold increased risk of hypertension, a common but dangerous condition.

The study by the European Society of Cardiology studied 22,051 children and adolescents who were a part of the Prevention Education Program (PEP) Family Heart study. As a part of the study, the researchers measured the participant's blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), circumference of the waist (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), skin-fold thickness (SFT) and the percent of body fat (BF).

They found that obese youths have six-fold increased risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. This is a chronic condition that affects 1 in every 4 American adults and occurs when the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated.

Professor Peter Schwandt said: "The prevalence of hypertension and obesity in children and adolescents is continuing to rise in most high and middle-income countries. Because adiposity is considered a driving force for cardiovascular disease, we examined whether elevated blood pressure was associated with body fat distribution in young people."

Children and adolescents with blood pressure reading between 90^th-95^th percentile of the blood pressure curve are known to have pre-hypertension. Blood pressure reading over 95^th percentile is known as hypertension. The diagnosis was based on various measurements on separate days and on repeated estimations with child sitting quietly for five minutes. A cuff size for the arm was used in the current position.

They observed that the risk of pre-hypertension was way higher in those with higher BMIthan the normal weight children and adolescents. Overweight boys had 1.6-fold risk of pre-hypertension, obese boys had 2.4-fold higher risk and overweight girls had 1.8-fold higher risk and obese girls had 3.3-fold increased risk.

A strong link existed between adverse fat patterning and higher risk for hypertension. The odd ratio in obese boys was 5.9 and in obese girls it was 4.3. As the body weight increased, the prevalence of high blood pressure also increased.

Professor Schwandt said: "We found that obese boys had a nearly six fold increased risk of hypertension compared to normal weight boys. In obese girls the risk was more than four times greater than their normal weight counterparts."

The study clearly reveals that fatter younger people are at much higher risk of pre-hypertension and hypertension. The risk further drops by weight loss.

Professor Schwandt concluded: "General and abdominal adiposity, estimated using simple and inexpensive methods, are already significantly associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension in children and adolescents. This is of great importance because of the ongoing rise in the prevalence of hypertension and overweight/obesity in young people and the tracking of childhood overweight into adulthood."