[Prevalence of hypertension among obese children and adolescents]

There has been an increase in chronic diseases affecting the population not only in the world but also in Brazil. Hypertension and obesity fit this context, including among early age individuals. This paper aims at investigating the prevalence of hypertension among obese children and adolescents, checking its manifestation in compliance with gender and age. The study involved 129 obese individuals, ages ranging from 7 to 14 years, both sexes. The evaluation consisted of anthropometric measures and blood pressure measurements. The data were then analysed statistically through BioEstat 3.0 program, which indicated the prevalence of hypertension in both sexes (male = 15.8% and female = 26.4%), with no significant differences between each other. The disease was also present in the different age groups, especially among those aged 13 to 14 (52.4%), who were statistically different from other age groups, which, in turn, were not different from each other. This led to the conclusion that hypertension was remarkably present in the investigated population, indicating that the obesity can interfere in the elevation of the children's blood pressure and adolescents.