High blood pressure and its relationship to adiposity in a school-aged population: body mass index vs waist circumference.

High blood pressure (HBP) is a major concern in pediatric populations. Adiposity is highly related to HBP in youths; however, whether body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) is more strongly associated with HBP in this population is unclear. This cross-sectional study, involving schoolchildren between 10 and 17 years of age from public and private schools, assessed direct measurements of BMI, WC and blood pressure. The socioeconomic level, sedentary behavior, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking history were obtained through a questionnaire. A Pearson's correlation and linear regression were used. In total, 1011 adolescents with a mean age of 13.1 (+2.3) years were evaluated. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 27.7%, and the percentage of abdominal obesity was 19.3%. Adolescent boys and girls who had overweight/obesity or abdominal obesity had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) values compared with eutrophic adolescents or those without abdominal obesity. In general, both BMI and WC were related to BP, but WC was more strongly correlated with BP than BMI. In conclusion, although both BMI and WC were related to HBP, WC was more strongly associated with blood pressure in young people.