Association between body mass index and blood pressure among children age group 5 to 15 years in a tertiary care centre: a descriptive study

Background: The growing prevalence of obesity is increasingly recognized as one of the most important risk factors for the development of hypertension. Today the problem has started appearing even in developing countries like India. Tackling this epidemic of obesity and obesity-related hypertension requires studies specific for the local population as these vary according to ethnicity, lifestyles and dietary habits which differ among areas in India, for this reason a study was done in our hospital. Methods: The pediatric unit of Kerala Institute of Medical Science (KIMS), which is a referral multispecialty tertiary care hospital in private sector in south India catering to a population of 100 to 200 outpatient/day, children attending OPD between 5-15years were included in the study. Results: Pre-hypertension and hypertension was seen in 1% (2 out of 195) of normal and 0% (0 out of 30) of overweight and 60.9% (9 out of 14 obese children). P value was statistically significant indicating that there is strong association between BMI and blood pressure. Conclusions: There is strong association between BMI and blood pressure. Prevalence of obesity in children aged 5 to 15 years attending to the outpatient department in Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, Trivandrum is 9.2%. Prevalence of essential hypertension in children aged 5 to 15 years attending to the outpatient department in Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, Trivandrum is 2%.