Blood pressure among overweight children aged 7-13 years in 10 rural communities in South Africa: the tshannda longitudinal study

This study examined the incidence of hypertension among South African rural children involved in the Tshannda Longitudinal Study. This cross-sectional study comprised of 409 children [193 boys and 216 girts] of grades 1-7 from primary schools in Tshannda, Vhembe District, South Africa. It forms Phase 1 of the Tshannda Longitudinal Study. Stature and body mass were measured using standard procedures. Blood pressure [BP] was monitored for three consecutive times using validated electronic devices [Omron 7051T]. Hypertension was determined as the average of three separate BP readings where the systolic or diastolic BP was >95[th] percentile for age and sex. The incidence of overweight defined by body mass index [BMI] cutoff was 2.6% for boys and 2.9% for girls. The likelihood of the development of hypertension among the children is noticeable at grade level one for both boys and girls [1.7% and 1.3% respectively] and ranged from 0.3% to 1.7% for boys and 1.3% to 5.2% for girls. Overall, the incidence of hypertension was 1.5% and 1.8% in boys and girls, respectively. Blood pressure correlated positively with stature, body mass, BMI and body fat [p = 0.00]. The findings demonstrate the need for routine measurement of BP as part of physical examination in school children and use of cutoffs tailored to metabolic risks may be essential for assessment of overweight

Centripetal fat patterning in South African children

The waist-to-stature ratio [WSR] is newly developed index, proposed to be of greater value as a simple anthropometric indicator, for predicting abdominal obesity and related cardiovascular co-morbidities in adults and children. This study examined age and gender differences in waist-to-stature [WSR] as measure of centripetal fat patterning in a sample of children in Pretoria, South Africa. A cross-sectional study of 1136 schoolchildren [548 boys and 588 girls] aged 9-13 [11.2 +/- 1.3] years were studied. Anthropometric measurements included body mass, stature and waist circumference. WSR was calculated by dividing waist circumference [in cm] by stature [in cm]. Data were analysed using means and standard deviation. The parametric t-test was applied to examine sexual dimorphism in fat patterning among the children. The proportion of children with a WSR /= 0.5 was 47 [8.6%], while girls were 108 [18.4%]. The prevalence of central obesity [WSR >/= 0.5] was found at all age and sex categories with the highest prevalence rate found at age 13 in both sexes. The fact that WSR >/= 0.5 [13.6%] was found in these children, even among the youngest, is a cause for concern since obesity-related problems are likely to be present among the children. The need to design and implement appropriate intervention strategies at school and community levels is evident