Obesity and elevated blood pressure in suburban student athletes

To assess the prevalence of obesity and elevated blood pressure in a suburban population of middle school and high school student athletes and examine the differences from the previously published populations.

The Student Athlete Cardiac Evaluation Registry Study is a single-centre, community hospital-based registry study, that provided free annual preparticipation physical examinations (PPE) from 2009 to 2017. The PPE on the 906 athletes included a history, a physical examination and body metrics including height, weight and blood pressure. The blood pressure was measured with an automated blood pressure cuff and, if elevated, was remeasured using a manual blood pressure cuff with aneroid manometer. The data from the PPE were collected and analysed for prevalence of obesity, overweight and elevated blood pressure measurements.

The prevalence of obesity was 11%, and 19% of participants were overweight. Many of the athletes had an elevated blood pressure (15%). There was a significant association (P<0.001) between weight and elevated blood pressure. Among athletes with elevated blood pressure, 50% were either obese or overweight.

There was a similar prevalence of overweight athletes in our study compared with previously published populations, but there were a lower proportion of obese athletes, which may be explained by differences in demographics. Despite the differences in study populations and the lower rate of obesity, the proportion of athletes with elevated blood pressure in our study was similar to prior populations. Weight issues and elevated blood pressure affect athletes across a range of different populations.