Eating Out Is So Fun, But Is It Raising Your Blood Pressure?

Researchers at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore have discovered that eating out may be associated with higher caloric intake, overindulgence via fatty foods that are high in saturated fat and salt and an increased risk of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, can dramatically increase the risk of numerous health issues, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Furthermore, previous findings have shown that even slightly elevated blood pressure can contribute to the risk of very high hypertension.

Researchers surveyed 501 young adults in school between the ages of 18-40 in Singapore. They collected data involving their blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle, including meals eaten away from home and physical activity levels. From there, researchers gauged blood pressure levels and risk.

They discovered that pre-hypertension was found in 27.4 percent of the total population, while 28 percent ate more than 12 meals away from home per week. A gender breakdown of the information also revealed that men were more likely than women to eat out at 49 percent to 9 percent.

Furthermore, those who had pre-hypertension or hypertension were also more likely to eat more meals away from home per week with a higher BMI and exercised less. They were also more likely to smoke, as well.

They found that even eating one extra meal out raised the odds of prehypertension by 6 percent.

"While there have been studies conducted in the United States and Japan to find behaviors associated with hypertension, very few have surveyed a Southeast Asian population," concluded Tazeen Jafar, who supervised the study. "Our research plugs that gap and highlights lifestyle factors associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension that are potentially modifiable, and would be applicable to young adults globally, especially those of Asian descent."

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