News - Hypertension Week of Feb. 16, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 07

Study: Large Weight Gain in Boys Ups Hypertension Risk

Putting on a lot of pounds between the ages of 8 and 15 can increase the risk of elevated blood pressure in boys who were born thin, according to a study report in the Feb. 11 rapid access issue of Hypertension.

In contrast, lead author Linda Adair, nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina, said boys who had more rapid growth in the first two years of life do not have a higher risk of having elevated blood pressure in adolescence, regardless of whether they were thin at birth.

The researchers did not find any relationship between body proportions at birth and the risk of elevated blood pressure in adolescence among the girls in the study.

Adair said low birth weight in full-term infants may be evidence of growth retardation in the womb. Under this hypothesis, a malnourished fetus will adapt its metabolism to survive in the womb until birth.

However, this adaptation puts a person at increased risk of several chronic disease, including cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and perhaps cancer, later in life.

Adair said the study results demonstrate the need for pregnant women adequate nutrition and health-care to avoid fetal growth retardation. "It turns out that growth during infancy, in this study at least, was not a risk factor, but more rapid weight gain later on was,"she said.

Other sources: American Heart Association