Medidas Hipertensivas em Escolares: Risco da Obesidade Central e Efeito Protetor da Atividade Física Moderada-Vigorosa

Abstract

Background: The proportion of arterial hypertension (AH) has increased in children and adolescents and is associated with several comorbidities. Objective: To verify the association of arterial hypertension with central and general obesity as well as according to the level of physical activity in schoolchildren. Methods: 336 children and adolescents aged 11 to 17 participated in the study. Height, body weight, waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured. The body mass index z-score (BMI-z) was calculated. The level of physical activity was assessed by the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) according to the practice of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities (AF-mv). Students with systolic (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) higher than the 95 th percentile according to sex, age and height or ≥120/80 were considered hypertensive. Statistical tests of t-Student, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and binary logistic regression model were used, considering the significance level of p<0.05. Results: It was found that 40.5% of the students had AH, 35.11% were overweight (12.5% obese), 13.39% had high WC and 40.2% were considered insufficiently active in AF-mv. The chances of AH were related to high WC (OR = 6.11; 95% CI: 2.59¬-14.42) and overweight (OR = 2.91; 95% CI: 1.76-4.79). In addition, adolescents who practiced AF-mv had a lower risk of high DBP (OR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.15-0.72). Conclusion: Central obesity was the best predictor of AH in children and adolescents, as well as general obesity and males. The practice of AF-mv demonstrated a protective effect on high DBP in schoolchildren.

Comparison between girls and boys lifestyle profile and physical activity

“…In agreement with what was found in this investigation, youth health can be affected by habitual behaviors since the unfavorable lifestyle reflects negatively on health, increasing the chances of problems and the presence of comorbidities related to sedentary behavior and overweight 5,10 . The life habits for children and youth are directly related to family and social behavior with the tendency of global increase in sedentary recreation activities 28 and factors such as lack of Vitamin D which are related to poor nutrition, low solar exposure, and decrease in physical activity engagement 3 .…”

“…During this time there are important biological, psychological, and social transformations with the adoption of life-long patterns and behaviors. These can influence the development of comorbidities associated to obesity 5 , considered a multifactorial causality that involves genetic, physiological, environmen-tal, cultural, social, and psychological aspects 6,7 .…”

“…The lifestyle includes several components of human behavior, representing situations that can be healthy or not, revealing many aspects of the day-to-day to be considered in terms of risk behaviors and impacts on population health. Therefore, the unfavorable lifestyle, which includes low levels of physical activity, inadequate eating habits and risk behaviors, is associated to cardiometabolic changes 5 as well as low cardiorespiratory fitness 8 , muscle strength 9 , and Vitamin D concentrations 3 . The unfavorable lifestyle profile in children and youth favors excessive weight and other associated diseases.…”

Pressão Arterial em Crianças. O Papel Fundamental da Atividade Física e da Gordura Corporal

“…7 Physical inactivity and obesity have become a global health issue and the evidence indicate that both are independently associated with raised blood pressure. [8][9][10] The prevalence of childhood hypertension is rising in parallel with global increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. 8 In addition, obesity-related hypertension contributes further to the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors.…”

“…8 Physical activity and high sedentary behavior play a key role in children and adolescents health. 9,10 Current literature report that physical activity confers benefits for improved physical fitness (cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness), cardiometabolic health (blood pressure, dyslipidemia, glucose, and insulin resistance), bone health, cognitive outcomes (academic performance, executive function), mental health (reduced symptoms of depression); and reduced adiposity. 9 In addition, some studies in children have demonstrated that low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is inversely associated with raised blood pressure.…”