Gender comparisons of adolescents’ anthropometry and blood pressure in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria
-
Bridget Omisore
and
Emmanuel Akintunde Abioye-Kuteyi
Abstract
Background: Adolescents are in their formative years, and they experience several changes including anthropometric changes. Significant weight gain occurs in adolescence, and increasingly, obesity and consequent increase in blood pressure (BP) are found in adolescents.
Objective: This study compared anthropometric and BP measurements in male and female adolescents.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1000 adolescents (510 males and 490 females) were selected by multi-stage sampling from eight secondary schools. Pertinent information was collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 version, and the means of anthropometric indices and blood pressures in males and females were compared using independent t-test.
Results: The mean age for male respondents was 13.83 years (SD 2.12) and for females 13.62 (SD 1.96). Generally, anthropometric indices gradually increased from the lower ages to the higher ages in both males and females. The mean height was the same for both males and females (1.54 m), while the mean weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference were significantly higher in females than in males (p<0.05). A significantly higher proportion of females compared with males were overweight (10.2%, 5.3%) and obese (3.9%, 2.0%), respectively. The overall prevalence of “hypertension,” was 4.1% and more females (70.7%) had “hypertension” than males (29.3%).
Conclusion: Females were heavier and constituted the greater proportion of those who had elevated BP. Adequate attention needs to be given to the challenging problems of overweight and obesity to forestall development of hypertension in adolescents, especially female adolescents.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Osun State, and the Local inspectorates of education, principals, teachers as well as students involved in the project. We also appreciate the doctors, nurses, other health workers, and students involved in the data collection process. Finally, the authors thank the management of OAUTH, who partly supported the first author for this work, which is part of her thesis that she carried out while a resident at OAUTH.
Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no financial or personal relationships, which may have inappropriately influenced us in reaching the conclusions in this paper.
References
1. Parent AS, Teilmann G, Juul A, Skakebaek NE, Toppari J, et al. The timing of normal puberty and the age limits of sexual precocity: variations around the world, secular trends, and changes after migration. Endocr Rev 2003;24:668–93.10.1210/er.2002-0019Search in Google Scholar
2. Heald FP, Gong EJ. Diet, nutrition and adolescence. In: Shils ME, Ross AC, editors. Modern nutrition in health and disease, 9th ed. Maryland, USA: Williams and Wilkins, 1999.Search in Google Scholar
3. Oduwole AA, Ladapo TA, Fajolu BI, Ekure EN, Adeniyi OF. Obesity and elevated blood pressure among adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 2012;12:616.10.1186/1471-2458-12-616Search in Google Scholar
4. Falkner B, Gidding SS, Ramirez-Garnica G, Wiltrout SA, West D, et al. The relationship of body mass index and blood pressure in primary care paediatric patients. J Pediatr 2006;148:195–200.10.1016/j.jpeds.2005.10.030Search in Google Scholar
5. Franks W, Hanson RL, Knowler WC, Sievers ML, Bennett PH, et al. Childhood obesity, other cardiovascular risk factors and premature death. N Engl J Med 2010;11;362:485–93.10.1056/NEJMoa0904130Search in Google Scholar
6. Chen X, Wang Y. Tracking of blood pressure from childhood to adulthood: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Circulation 2008;117:3171–80.10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.730366Search in Google Scholar
7. Taksande A, Chaturvedi P, Vilhekar K, Jain M. Distribution of blood pressure in school going children in rural area of Wardha district, Maharashatra, India. Ann Pediatr Cardiol 2008;1:101–6.10.4103/0974-2069.43874Search in Google Scholar
8. McCarthy HD, Ellis SM, Cole TJ. Central overweight and obesity in British youth aged 11–16 years: cross sectional surveys of waist circumference. BMJ 2003;326:624.10.1136/bmj.326.7390.624Search in Google Scholar
9. Akinpelu O, Oyewole OO, Oritogun KS. Overweight and obesity: does it occur in Nigerian adolescents in an urban community? Int J Biomed Health Sci 2008;4:1:11–7.Search in Google Scholar
10. Gupta AK, Ahmad AJ. Normal blood pressures and the evaluation of sustained blood pressure elevation in childhood. Indian Pediatr 1990;27:33–42.Search in Google Scholar
11. Voors AW, Webber LS, Frerichs RR. Body height and body mass as determinants of basal blood pressure in children: The Bogalusa Heart Study. Am J Epidemiol 1977;106:101–8.10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112439Search in Google Scholar
12. Lakshmanudu M, Mani K, Rao PS. Blood pressure levels in south Indian adolescents. Indian Pediatr 1992;29:715–22.Search in Google Scholar
13. Raj M, Sundaram KR, Paul M, Kumar RK. Blood pressure distribution in Indian children. Indian Pediatr 2010;47:477–85.10.1007/s13312-010-0089-zSearch in Google Scholar
14. Luepker RV, Jacobs DR, Prineas RJ, Sinaiko AR. Secular trends of blood pressure and body size in a multiethnic adolescent population: 1986 to 1996. J Pediatr 1999;134:668–74.10.1016/S0022-3476(99)70279-9Search in Google Scholar
15. Noronha JAF, Ramos ALC, Ramos AT, Cardoso MAA, de Carvalho DF, et al. High blood pressure in overweight children and adolescents. J Hum Health Dev 2012;22: 196–201.10.7322/jhgd.44940Search in Google Scholar
16. Olaitan OL. Evidence of elevated blood pressure among secondary school students in Ilorin. HFJI 2001;2:14–9.Search in Google Scholar
©2015 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Sleeping while driving
- Review
- The contribution of fat-free mass to resting energy expenditure: implications for weight loss strategies in the treatment of adolescent obesity
- Original Articles
- Gender comparisons of adolescents’ anthropometry and blood pressure in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria
- Perceived social support and parental education as determinants of adolescents’ physical activity and eating behaviour: a cross-sectional survey
- Educational intervention for parents of adolescents with chronic illness: a pre-post test pilot study
- Clinic attendance and health outcomes of youth with type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Congruence in reported frequency of parent-adolescent sexual health communication: A study from Mexico
- Knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS among students of a technical institution
- Prevalence of cigarette and water pipe smoking and their predictors among Iranian adolescents
- Socio-demographic and dietary factors associated with obesity among female university students in Jordan
- Difference in mental state between Internet-addicted and non-addicted Japanese undergraduates
- Dental aesthetics perception and eating behavior in adolescence
- Multiple sexual partnerships among female adolescents in rural Uganda: the effects of family structure and school attendance
- Substance use avoidance among Iranian male adolescents: a comparison of three versions of the theory of reasoned action
- Nutrition intake and physical activity in a middle school in New York City
- Sleep in university students across years of university education and gender influences
- Case Reports
- Delayed diagnosis of trichobezoar in a patient with presumed anorexia nervosa
- Atrial fibrillation in a healthy adolescent after heavy smoking of contraband cigarettes
- Short Communication
- Tobacco use among adolescents in Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Sleeping while driving
- Review
- The contribution of fat-free mass to resting energy expenditure: implications for weight loss strategies in the treatment of adolescent obesity
- Original Articles
- Gender comparisons of adolescents’ anthropometry and blood pressure in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria
- Perceived social support and parental education as determinants of adolescents’ physical activity and eating behaviour: a cross-sectional survey
- Educational intervention for parents of adolescents with chronic illness: a pre-post test pilot study
- Clinic attendance and health outcomes of youth with type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Congruence in reported frequency of parent-adolescent sexual health communication: A study from Mexico
- Knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS among students of a technical institution
- Prevalence of cigarette and water pipe smoking and their predictors among Iranian adolescents
- Socio-demographic and dietary factors associated with obesity among female university students in Jordan
- Difference in mental state between Internet-addicted and non-addicted Japanese undergraduates
- Dental aesthetics perception and eating behavior in adolescence
- Multiple sexual partnerships among female adolescents in rural Uganda: the effects of family structure and school attendance
- Substance use avoidance among Iranian male adolescents: a comparison of three versions of the theory of reasoned action
- Nutrition intake and physical activity in a middle school in New York City
- Sleep in university students across years of university education and gender influences
- Case Reports
- Delayed diagnosis of trichobezoar in a patient with presumed anorexia nervosa
- Atrial fibrillation in a healthy adolescent after heavy smoking of contraband cigarettes
- Short Communication
- Tobacco use among adolescents in Riyadh Saudi Arabia
