title: Visceral fat enhances blood pressure reactivity to physical but not mental challenges in male adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Excess visceral fat is a major risk factor for hypertension. Enhanced blood pressure (BP) reactivity and delayed BP recovery from physical and mental challenges predict future hypertension.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Determine whether visceral fat is associated with higher BP reactivity and delayed BP recovery from physical and mental challenges during adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a community-based sample of 283 male and 308 female adolescents, we measured visceral fat with magnetic resonance imaging, total body fat with bioimpedance, and beat-by-beat BP with a Finometer at rest and during physical (10-min standing) and mental (2-min math stress) challenges.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Males vs. females showed greater BP reactivity and no differences in BP recovery from either type of challenges. Visceral fat was positively associated with BP reactivity to standing up only and in males only (+8.4 ± 3.6 mmHg per 1 log cm(3) of visceral fat, P = 0.008), and this association was independent of total body fat. No association was seen between visceral fat and BP recovery from either type of challenge in either sex. All these associations were independent of age, puberty stage, height and initial BP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescent males vs. females demonstrate greater BP reactivity but similar BP recovery from physical and mental challenges. Excess visceral fat enhances BP reactivity to physical but not mental challenges in males only.
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2183-3442
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Woudenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abrahamowicz
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perron
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Veillette
authors.affiliation: Community Genomic Centre, Université de Montréal, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaudet
authors.affiliation: Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paus
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pausova
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
keywords: Blood pressure; sex; stress; visceral fat