Children’s blood pressure is on the rise, and obesity may be partly to blame for it, according to new research.
A new study from the American Heart Association found that high blood pressure was found to be more common among obese children.
“Our knowledge of current national estimates could be valuable to help inform policies and programs to support cardiovascular health in youth,” said study author Ahlia Sekkarie, an epidemiologist in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the CDC. “A healthy diet and regular exercise are important to reducing the risk of high blood pressure. Ensuring that youth are eating a healthy diet and getting enough physical activity is crucial to helping prevent heart disease and stroke.”
Childhood obesity is “one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century,” according to the World Health Organization.
Researchers from the United Kingdom have found that over the past three decades, the number of people — both children and adults — considered to be clinically obese has risen to over 1 billion. In contrast, the number of people deemed underweight has dropped to under 550 million.
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher, and it substantially increases a person’s risk of various negative health outcomes. As reported by The Dallas Express, excess weight has been connected to a heightened risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, cancer, dementia, infertility, and more.
Fox News reports on the new research from the American Heart Association. Here’s the start of the story:
New research from the American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that parents might want to keep a closer eye on their kids’ blood pressure.
About one in seven (14%) of children and teens in the U.S. have high blood pressure or are headed toward it, according to the preliminary findings.
Nearly half of U.S. adults have the condition, according to the AHA, which can raise the risk of heart attack, stroke and other events due to damaged arteries and plaque buildup.
Lead researcher Dr. Ahlia Sekkarie and her team analyzed the blood pressure and BMI (body mass index) of 2,600 children and teens between the ages of 8 and 19, obtained from the 2017 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.
The researchers found that 8.7% of youths had elevated blood pressure (systolic pressure between 120 and 19 and diastolic pressure less than 80) and 5.4% had high blood pressure, or hypertension (systolic pressure between 130 and 139 or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89).
Blood pressure measurements were higher among boys compared to girls and continued to rise with age.