| Popis: |
Aim: The prevalence of hypertension and obesity is increasing worldwide. Recent data on sustained hypertension and obesity among school-going children and adolescents from the state of Kerala, India are limited. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity and hypertension among apparently healthy school going adolescents. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 252 school going adolescents aged 11-16 years (173 boys and 79 girls) selected from two private aided rural schools of Thrissur, District, Kerala, India. Measurements like height, weight, and blood pressure were done using standard guidelines. Guidelines of Indian Academy of Pediatrics and standard guidelines of blood pressure measurement using gender height specific blood pressure percentile charts were used to identify the overweight/obese and pre-hypertensive/ hypertensive adolescents respectively. Analysis was done using SPSS version 27.0. Gender wise differences were checked using chi-square and t-test. Results: Among 252 adolescents, 83 (20.7%) were either overweight or obese and pre-hypertensive or hypertensive. The overall prevalence of obesity and overweight was found to be 9.5% and 15.1% respectively. The overall prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension was found to be 15 (6.0%) and 24 (9.5%) respectively. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure was found to be statistically lower (P |
