Blood Pressure and Body Fat Distribution of Overweight and Normal Weight School Going Children

Obesity is becoming an increasingly important public health problem in developed as well as developing countries. The increase in overweight or obesity is not restricted to adults but is evident in children also. Overweight in children is associated with a number of non-communicable chronic diseases like hypertension and insulin resistance. More recently, regional distribution of fat within the body has been associated with obesity related complications. Significant relationship has been observed between central body fat including intra-abdominal adipose tissue and morbidity in children. This in turn is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in adulthood. Android obesity with centripetal fat distribution, is related to numerous complications like hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia. The risk of intra-abdominal accumulation of fat can begin early in life and may be concurrent with the development of overweight in children. The present study was undertaken to compare the blood pressure and body fat distribution pattern of overweight and normal weight children.