Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Correlation between fat mass and blood pressure in healthy children

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Pediatric Nephrology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

    We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

    Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Abstract

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for arterial hypertension. The aim of this study was to analyze which surrogate marker of adiposity, i.e., body mass index (BMI) or fat mass (FM), as measured by bioimpedance analysis (BIA), best correlated with blood pressure in healthy children. Body weight, height, and casual blood pressure (BP) were measured in 193 healthy children (103 boys), aged 8–16 years. Body composition was determined by BIA. The correlation between BMI and age was linear, whereas the correlation between percentage of FM and age was nonlinear and it was different in boys and girls. Blood pressure standard deviation scores (SDS) correlated with FM SDS (BIA) over the entire normal range (systolic: r = 0.26, p = 0.002; diastolic: r = 0.33, p < 0.01). An evaluation of the children based on BP (three groups: BP < 50th percentile, 50th < BP > 95th percentile; BP > 95th percentile) revealed that hypertensive children had a higher BMI (17.6 vs. 19.4 vs. 26.2 kg/m2, respectively) and a greater FM (14.0 vs. 16.8 vs. 30.2%, respectively). In conclusion, the divergence in FM in healthy boys and girls can be determined by BIA but not by BMI. In healthy children, BP within the entire normal range correlated with FM, children with established hypertension presented with a significantly higher FM. The study points to FM as an important determinant of BP pressure in obese and non-obese children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Angelopoulos PD, Milionis HJ, Moschonis G, Manios Y (2006) Relations between obesity and hypertension: preliminary data from a cross-sectional study in primary schoolchildren: The children study. Eur J Clin Nutr 60:1226–1234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL (2002) Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA 288:1728–1732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Troiano RP, Flegal KM, Kuczmarski RJ, Campbell SM, Johnson CL (1995) Overweight prevalence and trends for children and adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 149:1085–1091

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Colditz GA, Willett WC, Rotnitzky A, Manson JE (1995) Weight gain as a risk factor for clinical diabetes mellitus in women. Ann Intern Med 122:481–486

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Dietz WH, Vinicor F, Bales VS, Marks JS (2003) Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors. JAMA 289:76–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Thompson D, Edelsberg J, Colditz GA, Bird AP, Oster G (1999) Lifetime health and economic consequences of obesity. Arch Intern Med 159:2177–2183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Eisenmann JC, Wrede J, Heelan KA (2005) Associations between adiposity, family history of CHD and blood pressure in 3–8 year-old children. J Hum Hypertens 19:675–681

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sorof J, Daniels S (2002) Obesity hypertension in children: a problem of epidemic proportions. Hypertension 40:441–447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hall JE, Hildebrandt DA, Kuo J (2001) Obesity hypertension: role of leptin and sympathetic nervous system. Am J Hypertens 14:103S–115S

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kelishadi R, Hashemipour M, Bashardoost N (2004) Blood pressure in children of hypertensive and normotensive parents. Indian Pediatr 41:73–77

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Robinson RF, Batisky DL, Hayes JR, Nahata MC, Mahan JD (2004) Body mass index in primary and secondary pediatric hypertension. Pediatr Nephrol 19:1379–1384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rosner B, Prineas R, Daniels SR, Loggie J (2000) Blood pressure differences between blacks and whites in relation to body size among US children and adolescents. Am J Epidemiol 151:1007–1019

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Sorof JM, Poffenbarger T, Franco K, Bernard L, Portman RJ (2002) Isolated systolic hypertension, obesity, and hyperkinetic hemodynamic states in children. J Pediatr 140:660–666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Gomez JM, Heitmann BL, Kent-Smith L, Melchior J-C, Pirlich M, Scharfetter H, Schols AM, Pichard C; Composition of the ESPEN Working Group (2004) Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part I: review of principles and methods. Clin Nutr 23:1226–1243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Chumlea WC, Guo SS, Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM, Johnson CL, Heymsfield SB, Lukaski HC, Friedl K, Hubbard VS (2002) Body composition estimates from NHANES III bioelectrical impedance data. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 26:1596–1609

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Lohman TG, Caballero B, Himes JH, Davis CE, Stewart D, Hautkooper L, Going SB, Hunsberger S, Weber JL, Reid R, Stephenson L (2000) Estimation of body fat from anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance in Native American children. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 24:982–988

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Earthman CP, Matthie JR, Reid PM, Harper IT, Ravussin E, Howell WH (2000) A comparison of bioimpedance methods for detection of body cell mass change in HIV infection. J Appl Physiol 88:944–956

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Foster KR, Lukaski HC (1996) Whole-body impedance—what does it measure? Am J Clin Nutr 64[Suppl]:388–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Jacobs DO (1996) Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis measurements in the clinical management of critical illness. Am J Clin Nutr 64[Suppl 3]:498–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Reich A, Mueller G, Gelbrich G, Deutscher K, Goedicke R, Kiess W (2003) Obesity and blood pressure—results from the examination of 2365 schoolchildren in Germany. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 27:1459–1464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Palczewska I, Niedźwiecka Z (2001) Somatic development indices in children and youth of Warsaw. Med Wieku Rozwoj 5[Suppl 1]:17–118

    Google Scholar 

  22. Cole TJ, Green PJ (1992) Smoothing reference centile curves: the LMS method and penalized likelihood. Stat Med 11:1305–1319

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Schaefer F, Georgi M, Wuhl E, Scharer K (1998) Body mass index and percentage fat mass in healthy German schoolchildren and adolescents. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 22:461–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Task Force on Blood Pressure Control in Children (1987) Report of the second task force on blood pressure control in children-1987. Pediatrics 79:1–25

    Google Scholar 

  25. Siervogel RM, Woynarowska B, Chumlea WC, Guo SM, Roche AF (1987) Bioelectric impedance measures of body composition: their relationship with level of blood pressure in young adults. Hum Biol 59:245–255

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Völler H, Schmailzl KJ, Bjarnason-Wehrens B (2004) Obesity and cardiovascular diseases - theoretical background and therapeutic consequences. Z Kardiol 93:503–513

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Allison DB, Zannolli R, Faith MS, Heo M, Pietrobelli A, VanItallie TB, Pi-Sunyer FX, Heymsfield SB (1999) Weight loss increases and fat loss decreases all-cause mortality rate: results from two independent cohort studies. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 23:603–611

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Stergiou GS, Nasothimiou E, Giovas P, Kapoyiannis A, Vazeou A (2008) Diagnosis of hypertension in children and adolescents based on home versus ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. J Hypertens 26:1556–1562

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Shaikh MG, Crabtree NJ, Shaw NJ, Kirk JMW (2007) Body fat estimation using bioelectrical impedance. Horm Res 68:8–10

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by unrestricted grant of Polish Ministry of Science (no 4 P05E 013 14) and 3T11E01326.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dialysis Unit, Polish-American Children’s Hospital, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, 265 Wielicka Str, 30-663, Cracow, Poland

    Dorota Drozdz & Jacek A. Pietrzyk

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Polish-American Children’s Hospital, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland

    Przemko Kwinta

  3. University of Science and Technology (AGH), Cracow, Poland

    Przemysław Korohoda

  4. Department of Nephrology, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland

    Maciej Drozdz

  5. Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Polish-American Children’s Hospital, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland

    Krystyna Sancewicz-Pach

Authors
  1. Dorota Drozdz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Przemko Kwinta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Przemysław Korohoda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jacek A. Pietrzyk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Maciej Drozdz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Krystyna Sancewicz-Pach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dorota Drozdz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Drozdz, D., Kwinta, P., Korohoda, P. et al. Correlation between fat mass and blood pressure in healthy children. Pediatr Nephrol 24, 1735–1740 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1207-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1207-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation