Obesity and Risk of Hypertension: A Growing Problem in Children and Adolescents

Arterial hypertension (AH) affects approximately 30% of adults in Brazil. A previously rare condition in children and adolescents, this situation has been changing given the obesity pandemic currently occurring in this age group.

Primary AH is a complex disease, as its appearance depends on genetic predisposition and factors linked to lifestyle. There is still no robust and easily obtainable genetic score to be used clinically as a predictor of AH. The same does not occur with the lifestyle factors, as it is known that a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, high salt intake and insulin resistance, predisposes to blood pressure increase throughout life.

[…]