HealthPartners Institute study: weight gain strongly linked to
increases in blood pressure in children

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A HealthPartners study of more than 100,000 children from across the U.S. found that children with a BMI that is higher than 95 percent on federal growth charts are two to three times more likely to develop hypertension compared to children with healthy weight.

The study, Change in weight status and development of hypertension, looked at the de-identified medical records of 101,606 children ages 3 to 17 with normal blood pressure and who received care at HealthPartners, Kaiser Northern California and Kaiser Colorado between 2007 and 2012. Compared with those who maintained a healthy weight, children and adolescents who became obese had substantial increases in blood pressure. Children who were obese at the start of the study, were more than twice as likely to develop hypertension over the study period compared with healthy weight children. However, the incidence of hypertension was relatively rare (less than 0.2%) overall.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measures obesity in children differently than adults. Because children’s weight and height change with age, Body Mass Index levels among children and teens are calculated by comparing it with CDC growth charts. Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. Healthy weight is based on BMI between the 5th and 85th percentile on the CDC growth chart.

“This study underscores the importance of developing and implementing effective clinical and public health strategies to prevent obesity early,” said Emily Parker, PhD, MPH, who was the lead investigator of the study at HealthPartners Institute. Long-term health effects of high blood pressure include heart and kidney disease and stroke. The study will be published in the Feb. 19, 2016 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

In a related study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released statistics in December that showed that 43 percent of children who were obese had abnormal cholesterol levels compared to 14 percent of normal-weight kids.

Research on children is part of HealthPartners Children’s Health Initiative aimed at improving the health and well-being of children from pregnancy to age five. It’s Important because research shows there is a strong link between health and well-being early in life and health and well-being later in life.