Study of Association of Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference with Hypertension among School Going Children

Background: Hypertension is on the raise among school going children. Obesity, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio, play an important role in the development of insulin resistance, predicting children with high blood pressure (BP). Objectives: The aim is to study the relationship of WC and BMI with the BP among school-going adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of paediatrics; Central India comprised 800 school going children between 10 and 16 years of age. Anthropometric measurements weight, height, WC was done using standard methods, and BMI was calculated. Normal BP was defined as values < 90th percentile and levels above this range were considered elevated. Results: The incidence of pre-hypertension and hypertension was 9% and 4.3%, respectively. Nearly 18.2% were overweight and 7.1% were obese. About 4.1% of the children had increased WC. Systolic and diastolic BP was higher in obese and central adiposity children. Prediction of pre-hypertension and hypertension among children was found to be statistically significantly associated with the high WC and high BMI. Conclusion: Obesity indicators such as WC and BMI because of its ease of measurement can be used as a screening tool to identify children with high BP. ; Background: Hypertension is on the raise among school going children. Obesity, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio, play an important role in the development of insulin resistance, predicting children with high blood pressure (BP). Objectives: The aim is to study the relationship of WC and BMI with the BP among school-going adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of paediatrics; Central India comprised 800 school going children between 10 and 16 years of age. Anthropometric measurements weight, height, WC was done using standard methods, and BMI was calculated. Normal BP was defined as values < 90th percentile and levels above this ...