Obese kids quadruple their risk of developing high blood pressure in adulthood

A new study has revealed that obese children quadruple their risk of developing high blood pressure in adulthood, while overweight children double the risk.

Researchers tracked the growth and blood pressure of 1,117 healthy adolescents from Indianapolis for 27 years, starting in 1986, and found that during childhood, 68 percent of the kids were a normal weight, 16 percent were overweight and 16 percent were obese.

It was found that the 26 percent of obese children had high blood pressure as adults, when compared with 6 percent of normal weight children and 14 percent of overweight kids.

The findings highlight the public health threat posed by overweight and obesity in childhood. The study results are also part of the growing body of evidence that heart disease may start in childhood, Sara E. Watson, M.D., study author and a pediatric endocrinology fellow at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Ind said.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013.