Obesity is Biggest Reason Hypertension is Rising Among Kids, Experts Say

The number of American kids aged 8 to 17 suffering high blood pressure increased by 410,105 between 1988 and 2002, according to a study to be published on September 25 in Circulation, the American Heart Association journal.

What accounts for this alarming trend, discovered by a research team at the Morehouse School of Medicine?

Experts interviewed by the Washington Post say that kids today eat more prepared and fast food, get less exercise and experience more stress than kids of previous generations.

But there’s one culprit that trumps them all.

“If you were going to make a list of the factors that are driving
this, obesity would be numbers one through 10,” Elizabeth G. Nabel,
director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Hypertension puts a person at greater risk of suffering a stroke,
and the thought of children enduring such an awful, potentially fatal
event is too sad to describe. Let’s hope this startling information is
a wake-up call to parents, school leaders and politicians everywhere.

Jennifer Moore for SUGAR SHOCK! Blog