Morning Exercise at School and Sedentary Activities are Important Determinants for Hypertension in Adolescents

This study was performed to determine the association of Pre–hypertension/ hypertension (pre‑HTN/HTN) with leisure‑time activities and morning exercise at school in a sample of Iranian adolescents.

This secondary study has done using data of 1992 adolescents participated in of Isfahan Healthy Heart Program. The outcome variable was having/not having pre‑hypertension/hypertension (pre‑HTN/HTN). The students with Blood pressure (BP) between 90th to 95th percentiles were considered as positive pre‑HTN and students with BP >95th percentile were considered as positive HTN. Students with pre‑HTN or HTN were considered as positive pre‑HTN/HTN. The asked leisure‑time activities were categorized in three group including first (ping‑pong, basketball, and volleyball), second (football, walking, and bicycling) and sedentary activities (watching TV, studying, and computer gaming), using factor analysis.

The prevalence of pre‑HTN and HTN was 16.1% and 6.7%, respectively. Based on multiple logistic regression pre‑HTN/HTN was associated just with sedentary activities and morning exercise at school. Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) for sedentary activities and morning exercise at school was 1.51 (1.13–2.01) and 0.63 (0.44–0.89), respectively.

We observed adolescents who engaged in morning exercise at school had lower prevalence of HTN while those who spent more times on sedentary activities were in higher risk for HTN. We suggest to permanent holding of morning exercise and educational programs on healthy lifestyle skills for adolescents by schools.