May 4, 2004 -- Increasing numbers of teens and children have developed high blood pressure during the past decade, new research shows.

The trend is largely due to the obesity problem, writes lead researcher Paul Muntner, PhD, an epidemiologist with Tulane University in New Orleans.

His report appears in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

It's serious business since high blood pressure and heart disease are typically diseases of middle age. Studies show that blood pressure problems in childhood lead to high blood pressure in young adulthood, he writes.

Muntner's nationwide study looked at children's and adolescents' blood pressure readings taken in 1999 to 2000, comparing them with data on readings performed between 1988 and 1994.

He found that between the two time periods, systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) increased an overall average of 1.4 points; diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) increased 3.3 points.

The two blood pressure numbers reflect pressure against artery walls when blood is pumped through the body.

Muntner also found the most significant blood pressure increases occurred in all ethnic groups - non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans from 8 to 12 years old - but not in white children:

"The strong association between [obesity] and systolic blood pressure among children and adolescents is worrisome," writes Muntner. His analysis "suggests that environmental factors other than increases in [obesity] are responsible for at least part of the increases in blood pressure among children and adults."

Diet and physical activity need attention in addressing this problem, he writes.

Muntner notes a problem with his study: His data are based on blood pressure readings taken at a single visit. More precise estimates would have been obtained during several visits. However, his study provides a credible snapshot of the high blood pressure problem in kids today, he writes.

SOURCES: Muntner, P. The Journal of the American Medical Association, May 5, 2004; vol 291: pp 2107-2113. WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise: "What Is High Blood Pressure?"