Relations between obesity and hypertension: preliminary data from a cross-sectional study in primary schoolchildren: The children study

Abstract

Objective: To record the prevalence of overweight, obesity and hypertension in primary schoolchildren living in one of the poorest regions in Europe and furthermore to identify certain behavioural, lifestyle and physiological parameters associated with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Nineteen primary schools within the county of Ioannina, Greece. Subjects and methods: Demographic, dietary and physical activity data as well as anthropometrical, BP and cardiorespiratory fitness measurements were obtained from a representative sample of 312 school children (153 boys and 159 girls) attending 5th grade. Inclusion of subjects in the study was voluntary. One-way analysis of variance and multiple linear regression analysis were mainly applied for the evaluation of the tested hypotheses. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 29.4 and 11.8% for boys and 39.0 and 7.5% for girls. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension was 28.1 and 7.8% for boys and 26.4 and 17.0% for girls. Furthermore, BMI and BP (systolic and diastolic) were positively related to frequency of fast food meals (rho: þ 0.28, P ¼ 0.033, rho: þ 1.09, P ¼ 0.03 and rho: þ 0.86, P ¼ 0.014, respectively) but negatively to leisure time physical activity (rho: À5.55, P ¼ 0.005, rho: À3.32 Â 10 À2 , Po0.001 and rho: À2.08 Â 10 À2 , Po0.001, respectively). Conclusions: The current study revealed an increased prevalence of overweight, obesity and hypertension among schoolchildren in Ioannina, indicating the need for early preventive measures in one of the less privileged regions of Europe.

Trends in high blood pressure prevalence in Greek adolescents

“…[5][6][7] There are only few data about the prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents, mainly in studies with restricted sample size, whereas information about the variables that influence BP is limited. [8][9][10] However, the available evidence suggests that the prevalence of hypertension in Greek children exceeds the rates reported for respective age groups in other countries. [8][9][10] This study was designed to assess the prevalence of high BP in adolescents and its potential change in recent years, as well as to investigate associated dietary and lifestyle factors.…”

“…[8][9][10] Angelopoulos et al 9 reported that the prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension was 28.1 and 7.8% for boys and 26.4 and 17% for girls in schools of Northern Greece. Similarly, in another Greek study, 39.3 and 32.3% of boys presented with systolic and diastolic BP above normal, respectively, whereas for girls, the respective proportions were 36.3 and 36.6%.…”

Home and office blood pressure in children and adolescents: the role of obesity. The Arsakeion School Study

“…Secondly, there are only a few data regarding which is the best available marker of obesity in relation to BP. [17][18][19][20][21] Finally, office blood pressure (OBP) that is classically used for the evaluation of hypertension in children and adolescents may lead to misinterpretation of the true BP. 22 Recently, it has been shown that home blood pressure (HBP) monitoring is an applicable and more reliable method for the evaluation of BP in children.…”

Assessing children's diet quality in Crete based on Healthy Eating Index: The Children Study

“…Children's 'poor' diet observed in developed countries during last decades have resulted in an increasing prevalence of risk factors for chronic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure and increased cholesterol levels in children (Hampl et al, 1999;Devaney et al, 2004;Kranz et al, 2004;Muntner et al, 2004;Angelopoulos et al, 2006;Magkos et al, 2006;Manios et al, 2008). Both the aforementioned clinical risk factors and several behavioral factors, such as unhealthy dietary habits or lifestyle patterns, originating in early life seem to track into adulthood increasing the risk for developing chronic diseases in adult life (Boulton et al, 1995;Hesketh et al, 2004).…”