Waist-hip ratio as a predictor of arterial hypertension risk in children and adolescents

Abstract

The first objective of this study was to verify the existence of a significant association between the nutritional status of a sample of school children and the values of their waist-hip ratio. The second objective was to discover if there was a correlation between the values of their waist-hip ratio and levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The population sample consisted of 1001 children and adolescents, 9-17 years of age, from 18 elementary and secondary schools in the provinces of Granada and Almeria (Spain). As part of the study, a complete evaluation of the nutritional status of the subjects was performed by anthropometry. The blood pressure of all the students was also measured. The results obtained confirmed that, regardless of age and gender, 85.01% of the subjects were normal weight, 9.99% were overweight, and 4.99% were obese. A significant association was found between the subjects’ nutritional status and its relation with the values of their waist-hip ratio (F = 118.060; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, there were also statistically significant differences between the waist-hip ratio and gender (F = 45.566; p < 0.0001). Finally, a significant association was found to exist between the waist-hip ratio and its relation with both systolic blood pressure (F = 3.068; p < 0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (F = 4.382; p < 0.0001). The waist-hip ratio is an accurate anthropometric indicator for the prediction of high blood pressure in overweight and obese children and adolescents.