Students exercise in a schoolyard while wearing masks at a high school in Daegu, 300 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 28, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — With children spending longer hours confined at home following the coronavirus outbreak, experts are warning of heightened concern for high blood pressure caused by obesity.
A research team from Woorisoa Children’s Hospital conducted a health survey of 1,548 elementary school students (813 first-graders and 735 fourth-graders).
They found that among first-grade elementary school students, the risk of high blood pressure among those who were classified as obese (16.6 percent of the total, 135 students) stood at 5.9 percent (eight students), which was higher than the 1.8 percent (12 students) among the non-obese group.
Among fourth-grade students, the risk of high blood pressure among the obese group (19.5 percent of the total, 143 students) stood at 11.9 percent (17 students), higher than the 4.9 percent (29 students) among the non-obese group.
A child’s risk of high blood pressure caused by obesity can be critical because it increases the risk of a heart attack, coronary artery disease, stroke, renal failure and other health complications in adulthood.
Normally, high blood pressure is asymptomatic for both children and adults alike and is discovered primarily during school health examinations.
“Blood pressure tends to go along with the level of physical growth going from a child to adulthood,” said Dr. Park Jun, a pediatrician at Woorisoa Children’s Hospital.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
