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Obese
teenagers are at increased risk of high blood pressure, but
the effects of those extra pounds may vary by race and
ethnicity, a new study suggests. Researchers found that
obesity had a bigger impact on blood pressure of Hispanic
and white teens, compared to their black and Asian peers. It
appeared to raise their risk of high blood pressure by four
to six times. Pediatric experts said the impact on Hispanic
teenagers was striking. Normal-weight Hispanic kids had a
low rate of high blood pressure, at just over 1 percent.
That shot up to nearly 8 percent among those who were obese.
High blood pressure at a young age can set the stage for
serious health problems in adulthood, including stroke and
heart disease. All children should have their blood pressure
checked at routine doctor visits, starting at age 3, the
senior researcher on the study said. Doctors should also be
aware that obesity can have a particularly strong effect on
Hispanic kids' blood pressure, study author said. Doctors
have known for years that obese kids are at increased risk
of high blood pressure, researcher noted. But the role of
race and ethnicity has been unclear, he added. So research
team studied a diverse group of more than 21,000 Houston
adolescents who had their blood pressure screened at school.
Overall, almost 3 percent were diagnosed with high blood
pressure -- after showing persistently high readings at
three screenings. Hispanic kids had the highest rate, at
just over 3 percent. They also had the highest obesity rate,
at 23 percent, the findings showed. At the other end of the
spectrum, Asians had the lowest rates of high blood pressure
(1.7 percent) and obesity (10 percent). In general, the
study found, excess weight was linked to a raised risk of
high blood pressure across all racial and ethnic groups. But
the impact of obesity was most clear among Hispanic and
white kids: It raised their risk nearly sixfold and
fourfold, respectively, compared to normal-weight students.
Weight-related differences were smaller among black and
Asian students, the researchers said. Among black teens, 2
percent of those with a normal weight had high blood
pressure, versus 4.5 percent of obese teens. It's not clear
why obesity affected kids differently, and the study only
points to an association, not a direct cause-and-effect
relationship. For parents, though, the bottom line is fairly
straightforward, researcher added. Be aware that kids can
have high blood pressure, and that extra pounds are a risk
factor. If teenager's blood pressure has not been checked in
a while, it should be, Samuels said. "Once kids move on to
college, then young adulthood, they may stop going to the
doctor," he noted. "Ideally, we want to catch high blood
pressure when they're teenagers." Research team reported the
findings online April 10 in Pediatrics.
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