title: Hypertension and obesity in Italian school children: The role of diet, lifestyle and family history.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In Italy, the prevalence of hypertension, obesity and overweight in paediatric patients has increased in the past years. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between obesity and hypertension and related factors in Italian students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 2007 healthy individuals between the ages of 6 and 17 years of age (998 males and 1009 females) attending schools in the cities of Varese (northern Italy), Rome (central Italy) and Catanzaro (southern Italy). The blood pressure, weight and height of the students were measured. We also assessed their daily intake of foods and the amount of physical activity they performed. A questionnaire was administered to the parents of the subjects to obtain information on the child's medical history and family lifestyle. Of the students, 27.2% were overweight, and 6.6% were obese, with the highest percentages in southern Italy. A total of 6.2% of students had hypertension, and the region with the highest percentage was found to be northern Italy. Obese students had a risk of developing hypertension that was four times greater than those subjects who were of normal weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overweight and obese children/adolescents were more frequently found in southern Italy as opposed to northern and central Italy, and hypertensive children were more prevalent in the north. An unhealthy diet might explain the more widely spread obesity among children living in the south; an excess use of salt could explain the greater rate of hypertension found among children/adolescents living in the north.
authors: Study Group on Hypertension, University "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Menghetti
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University Federico II, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: pietro.strisciuglio@unina.it.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Strisciuglio
authors: ISFOL, Dipartimento Lavoro e Politiche Sociali, Rome, Italy.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Spagnolo
authors: Human Physiology, University of Insubria, Italy.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Carletti
authors: ISFOL, Dipartimento Lavoro e Politiche Sociali, Rome, Italy.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Paciotti
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University "Magna Grecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Muzzi
authors: Department of Sport Medicine, Varese, Italy.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Beltemacchi
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University "Magna Grecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Concolino
authors: Department of Molecular and Development Medicine, University of Siena, Italy.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Strambi
authors: ISFOL, Dipartimento Lavoro e Politiche Sociali, Rome, Italy.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Rosano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary
keywords: Hypertension; Italy; Obesity; Students