Evaluation of body mass index, abdominal fat and prevalence of hypertension among people 20 to 65 of Sabzevar city, Iran 2016.

Abstract: Introduction: The prevalence of obesity has been rapidly increasing in recent years and is considered as the main nutritional-health problem in developing and developed countries. Obesity increases the risk of many diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease and cancers (1). Inappropriate diet and lack of physical activity are main causes of overweight and obesity which predisposes non-communicable diseases such as HTN (hypertension) (2). Previous studies revealed that both total body fat and central fat distribution are closely related to hypertension (3). The objective of this study is to evaluate the status of obesity, body fat distribution, and blood pressure in people aged from 20 to 65 years old living in Sabzevar. Method: This is a descriptive-analytic study conducted in Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi (with a population of 320,000). The target population was people aged from 20 to 65 years old who were randomly selected through cluster sampling. 1,500 citizens (744 men and 708 women) participated in the study. Data was collected throughout the city with collaboration of selected and trained health volunteers. They measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waist and hip circumference, height, and weight. Results: Most samples with systolic blood pressure less than 13.99 had a normal body mass index (564 samples). The results of ANOVA showed that there was a significant difference in BMI between two groups of high and low systolic blood pressure (significant level was 0.35 which is less than 0.05). In addition, the systolic blood pressure was higher in the group with BMI>11.88 (with age over 30) than other groups. Most samples (899 samples) with systolic blood pressure less than 13.99 had normal abdominal fat. There was a significant difference in WHR index between the two groups of high and low systolic blood pressure (significant level was 0.001 and less than 0.05) and systolic blood pressure was higher in the group with high abdominal fat (11.86). Discussions and Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, abdominal fat and weight should be reduced to prevent hypertension. Thus, the public educational planning is needed to consider programs for weight loss and reduction in fat intake. People with high blood pressure have more abdominal fat, and most people in Sabzevar are overweight and prone to hypertension