Worldwide the problem of obesity has increased, and its prevalence is reached epidemic over the recent year1-3. Long term chronic conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, social and psychological consequences, osteoarthritis, certain forms of cancer, and additionally respiratory and skin problems are a risk for children who are obese or overweight4-7. An increased likelihood of adult obesity is directly related to childhood8,9. Obesity in school children is influenced by a number of factors such as society, economic conditions and environmental changes along with the eating habits and child rearing practices in the family10.
According to a number of studies performed over the last 50 years, the prevalence of obese children between the ages of 6 and 11 years old has doubled since the 1960s. The 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicated that of Thai children between the ages of 6 to 11 years old 15.3% of them were overweight11. In Thailand, a 1992-1994 nutritional survey of Bangkok primary schools with 2,885 student respondents indicated that obesity increased from 25.9% to 31.5% in its prevalence at Thailand’s demonstration schools, additionally there was an increase of 2.4% seen in private schools from 25.7% to 28.1%. Moreover, there was an increase from 11.2% to 14.6% in Bangkok Metropolitan schools and 23.3% to 27.4% in government schools 12. Obesity and increased body weight have been associated with increased rates of hypertension. However, data on obesity/overweight status and its association with hypertension in Thai children are scant.
In this study, we evaluated the relationship between the prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight children with the risk of the development of hypertension in children from the central Thailand