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Increased Physical Activity Reduces the Odds of Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure Independent of Body Mass or Ethnicity in Rural Adolescents

Abstract

Rudy M. Ortiz, Ruben Rodriguez, Sarah Depaoli and Simón E Weffer

Objectives: Reduced Physical Activity (PA) has been implicated in the increased prevalence of adolescent obesity and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP). The present study provides a robust examination of these relationships in Hispanic adolescents from a rural population for which data are scarce.

Methods: We compared PA levels, SBP and body mass categories (normal weight, overweight and obese) between non-Hispanic white and Hispanic adolescents (15 ± 0.1 yrs; n=983 males, 911 females) using odds ratio and path analyses.

Results: When groups (by gender & ethnicity) were categorized by body mass independent of SBP, prevalence of elevated SBP for obese compared to normal weight cohorts was 3.5- and 12-fold greater for non-Hispanic white males and females, respectively, and 2- and 3-fold greater for Hispanic males and females, respectively. When categorized by SBP independent of Body Mass Index (BMI), prevalence of obesity for adolescents with elevated SBP compared to normotensive cohorts was 3.5- and 6-fold greater for non-Hispanic white males and females, respectively, and 2-fold greater for both Hispanic males and females.

Conclusions: Path analyses suggest that both reduced PA and increased BMI are simultaneous predictors of the observed elevation in SBP. Odds ratio analyses revealed that 6+hr PA/wk reduced the probability of developing elevated SBP 3-fold in both genders independent of body mass category or ethnicity, identifying increased PA as a critical behavioral element to target to alleviate the consequences of obesity-related increases in SBP in young people regardless of ethnicity or gender.