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Abstract
Obesity in Youth, Diabetes, hypertension and other obesity-related chronic diseases that are prevalent among adults have now become more common in youngsters. The percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese is now higher than ever before. Poor dietary habits and inactivity are reported to contribute to the increase of obesity in youth(175)’
Today’s youth are considered the most inactive generation in history caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities. This fact sheet outlines many factors related to obesity in youth that make it the major health care challenge for the 21st century(175)
High blood pressure is one of the most common complications of obesity, especially abdominal adiposity. Obesity-related hypertension appears to be associated with the same hormonal substances (cytokines) produced by adipose tissue that result in hyperinsulinemia and the frequent development of type 2 diabetes. It has been suggested that hyperinsulinemia increases sodium absorption, kidney abnormalities affecting sodium and water reassertion are significantly correlated with obesity-related hypertension. Increased cardiac output, heart rate, and increased circulating blood volume are also associated with obesity-related hypertension.(27)
Obese children and adolescents are 2.4 times more likely to have high diastolic blood pressure and 4.5 times more likely to have high systolic blood pressure than their non-obese counterparts. Obese children and adolescents also show persistently elevated blood pressure levels than the non-obese.(175’l76)
Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Blood pressure levels in children track into adulthood. Some investigators have expressed the hope that finding an early marker for hypertension risk would lead to effective measures for primary prevention of the disease. (176-177) Most of the studies of BP carried out in different
populations have shown a rise of BP with age. The insidious and steady course of hypertension in adults indicates that it may have its roots in childhood and adolescent age group but probably goes undetected. (178’179)
Aim of the study: the study was carried for the following aims 1 - To assess the prevalence of essential hypertension among obese adolescents and study
the factors which may be related to its occurrence.
2-To study the effect of dietary modifications and weight reduction on the control of
hypertension among hypertensive obese adolescents.
Material and Methods: The study was carried out at the internal medicine and pediatric clinics of Student Health Insurance Hospital in Alexandria. One thousand eligible boys and girls aged 10-19 years were included in this study. The study was conducted in two phases during the year 2001/2.
1- The first phase was the cross -sectional study to identify hypertensive children among the one thousand obese.
2- The second phase was the intervention and follow up stu