Blood Pressure in Children. The Key Role of Physical Activity and Body Fatness

High blood pressure is the leading global risk factor for chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases and is the leading cause of premature death worldwide. The number of adults with high blood pressure increased from 594 million in 1975 to 1.13 billion in 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women had hypertension and that by 2025, 1.56 billion adults will be living with hypertension.

Childhood raised blood pressure is becoming more common in the general pediatric population, representing a considerable public health challenge worldwide. Studies have suggested that childhood high blood pressure seems to track from childhood to adulthood and is associated with detrimental lifelong cardiovascular events. However, raised blood pressure is one of the most important preventable contributors to disease and death and is considered to be one of the major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease with roots in childhood.^, Studies indicate that high blood pressure levels during childhood are a multifactorial condition. Genetics, age, gender, ethnicity, overweight/obesity, sodium and potassium intake, physical inactivity, and socioeconomic factors have been named as the main risk factors for hypertension.

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