Body adiposity and arterial hypertension in obese children and adolescents - doi:10.5020/18061230.2009.p88

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between arterial hypertension and body adiposity in obese children and adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which 129 obese children and adolescents of both genders with ages ranging from 7 to 14 years were evaluated. The adiposity was characterized from the obtained data as body mass index (BMG), body fat percentage (%BF) and waist-rip ratio (WRR). The group was divided into two subgroups (normotensive and hypertensive) by the level of blood pressure (BP). Kruskal Wallis statistical test was employed in order to determine the significance of the relationship between anthropometric data and blood pressure levels. The adopted value of p was ? 0.05. Results: It was shown that 101 (78.29%) participants were normotensive and 28 (21.71%) hypertensive. Regarding the adiposity, the hypertensive group presented higher levels of BMI and %BF when compared to the normotensive (p<0.05). From the data of WRR, there was no statistical relationship between waist-rip relation and blood pressure. Conclusion: Obese children and adolescents showed a statistically significant relationship between body adiposity and blood pressure levels; nevertheless, fat location was not a determinant factor of this difference.