The interdependence of nutritional status and blood pressure in female students

Abstract

Introduction: The value of blood pressure is affected by a number of factors, nutritional status being of utmost importance. The aim of the study was an assessment of the interdependence between the nutritional status and systolic blood pressure (SBP) as well as diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in female students. Material and method : The research included 66 women aged 20.5±0.71, studying in Bydgoszcz. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure was taken. The nutritional status of the students was estimated with the use of anthropometric parameters. To assess the status, nutritional indexes such as the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the percentage of fat in the body (%FM) were applied. Results: The mean systolic and diastolic pressure of the female students was optimal. Hypertension was identified only in one person (1.5% of the female students) and high normal blood pressure - in the eight all those (12% of the female students). The normal BMI was found in 42.4% of the female students. However, low body mass was found in every 5th person and undernutrition in every 3rd person. The percentage of body fat was high (31.1±4.6%), and obesity was identified in about 60% of the students (%FM>30%). A significant correlation was observed between systolic pressure and body mass (r=0.4 p<0.001), %FM (r=0.5 p<0.001) and BMI (r=0.4 p=0.002). A significantly higher systolic pressure (121 vs. 111 mmHg p<0,001) and diastolic pressure (77 vs. 73 mmHg p=0.013) was observed in the obese female students compared to the non-obese students. Conclusions: 1. Disorders in nutritional status (including underweight, low body mass, overweight and obesity) were identified in over a half of the students. 2. Interdependence between body mass, body mass index, body fat in female students and systolic pressure was shown. 3. A significantly higher blood pressure and more frequent occurrence of higher blood pressure categories were observed in obese female students.