Status quo of overweight, obesity and elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents aged 7 - 17 years in Mengzi City / 中国儿童保健杂志

ABSTRACT

【Objective】 To analyze the association of overweight and obesity with elevated blood pressure(BP) among children and adolescents in Mengzi City, in order to provide reference for making effective interventions. 【Methods】 A total of 30 classes of students in 14 schools were selected into this study by a stratified random cluster sampling method from October 2020 to September 2021. The paticipants completed a questionnaire survey, and had their height, weight and BP measured. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of overweight and obesity with elevated BP. 【Results】 A total of 4 015 children and adolescents aged 7 - 17 years were involved in the study. The detection rate of overweight, obesity and elevated BP was 12.53%, 10.01% and 12.38%, respectively. The detection rate of elevated BP was 9.96%, 19.48% and 25.62% in normal weight, overweight and obese groups, respectively. The risk of elevated BP in the overweight and obese groups was 2.190 times(95%CI: 1.696 - 2.926, P<0.001) and 3.243 times(95%CI: 2.501 - 4.204, P<0.001) as high as that in normal weight groups. The dietary and exercise behaviors of 1 604 adolescents were analyzed, it was found that the detection rate of obesity was significntly higher in non-boarding students(15.09%) and those who consumed fresh fruits at least once a day(13.49%)(χ2=18.012, 7.225, P<0.05), the detection rate of elevated BP was significantly higher in among those who did not consume sugary beverages(16.88%), and performed moderate-to-high intensity physical exercise of 60 minutes or more ≤ 2 days per week(16.88%)(χ2=9.403, 14.921,P<0.01). 【Conclusions】 The risk of developing hypertension increases with the high prevalence of overweight and obesity and is strongly associated with multiple factors. Therefore, it is essential to conduct effective weight control and behavioral lifestyle interventions among children and adolescents.