Assessment of Obesity and Related Conditions in Middle School Children

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the relationship between obesity and hyperlipidemia, hypertension and blood glucose in secondary school children.
METHODS: Children between 12 and 17 years old who applied to the Family Health Centers were included. The body mass index, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and lipid levels of the children were retrospectively evaluated. All participants were divided into four groups (underweight, normal, overweight, obese) according to body mass index. In the second stratification, children were examined as two groups (obese, non-obese).
RESULTS: Three hundred seven children 53 (17.4%) of whom were obese participated in the study. The mean systolic blood pressure was 119.6±14.5 mm/Hg in obese children and 113.1±11.7 mm/Hg in non-obese children, while mean diastolic blood pressure was 72.2±9.7 mm/Hg in obese group and 68.3±8.9 mm/Hg in non-obese group (p=0.001 and p=0.005, respectively). LDL-cholesterol levels were found as 102.0 [32.0] mg/dL in obese group and 89.5 [32.0] mg/dL in non-obese group, triglyceride as 96.0 [50.0] mg/dL in obese group and 76 [43.0] mg/dL in non-obese group, and total cholesterol as 170.0 [35.0] mg/dL in obese group and 155.0 [35.0] mg/dL in non-obese group (p<0.001, p=0.015 and p=0.006, respectively). In correlation analysis, body mass index and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels was significantly positive (r=0.230 and p<0.001; r=0.155 and p=0.007; r=0.139 and p=0.015; r=0.149 and p=0.009; r=0.123 and p=0.032, respectively).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In the present study obese children were found to be closely related to dyslipidemia and hypertension.