Blood pressure in obese adolescents: effect of weight loss

The BP distribution of a group of 72 obese adolescents was determined both before and after weight loss. Weight loss was produced by a program of caloric restriction and behavior change alone (n = 26) or with a combination of caloric restriction, behavior change, and exercise (n = 25). It was demonstrated that obese adolescents have a BP distribution that is skewed 1 SD to the right of normal (P less than .01), and that with weight loss this distribution was no longer different from that of the general population. It was also shown that a weight loss program that incorporates exercise and caloric restriction produces the most desirable effect on BP reduction (ie, greatest decrease in resting systolic BP and greatest decrease in exercise diastolic and mean BP). Finally, it was demonstrated that obese adolescents have structural changes present in the forearm resistance vessels and that these structural changes are reversed to the greatest extent in the weight loss program that includes exercise.