Abstract
This study investigated early indications of hypertension risk and the association of overweight and obesity in young girls from a low socioeconomic region of the rural South. 139 females (M age = 8.85 ± 1.67 years) from a rural school in the Southeastern region of the United States served as participants. Body mass index was calculated based on the child's height and weight measurements (kg/m(2)) and resting blood pressure measurements were taken with calibrated, automatic oscillations devices. Girls who were overweight or obese were 2.81 times more likely to have a systolic blood pressure indicative of being at-risk/hypertensive (i.e., pre-hypertension and/or hypertension stage 1) than girls who were not overweight/obese. In fact, the percentage of overweight/obese girls who were at-risk/hypertensive was double that of girls who were not overweight/obese (43.2% versus 21.3%), respectively. Being overweight or obese is associated with almost three times a higher risk of hypertension than girls who are not overweight or obese.