Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure in a Semi-urban Community in Ota, Nigeria

This study was designed to establish the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) in an increasingly industrialised town in Nigeria due to the rising prevalence of hypertension in non-industrialised countries. Factors associated with BMI and BP levels were determined in three hundred adult male and female subjects in Ota community of Ogun State, Nigeria. The levels of the overweight among the male and female subjects were 53.03% and 47.37% respectively. The levels of hypertensive male and female subjects were 40.91% and 35.34% respectively. The overweight and underweight among the hypertensive male were 54.29% and 0% respectively; while the overweight and underweight among the hypertensive female were 42.86% and 28.57% respectively. Hypertension among the overweight, and hypotension among the underweight, are major health concern in Ota that requires intensive medical care