The relationship between elevated blood pressure and obesity in black children

Abstract

Blood pressures, heights and weights were measured in 1,692 elementary school black children. Elevated blood pressure (EBP) was defined as a systolic or diastolic reading above the 90th percentile for age, and weights were categorized into five classes based on weight for height norms. Systolic EBP children, whether boys or girls, were three times as likely to be obese as black children in the total population, and a similar relationship held for diastolic EBP children.