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Obesity and hypertension in Australian young people: results from the Australian Health Survey 2011–2012
Author(s) -
Kim S.,
Lewis J. R.,
Baur L. A.,
Macaskill P.,
Craig J. C.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.13298
Subject(s) - medicine , obesity , overweight , demography , odds ratio , national health and nutrition examination survey , blood pressure , population , risk factor , young adult , cross sectional study , logistic regression , gerontology , environmental health , pathology , sociology
Background Few studies have focused on the prevalence of obesity and hypertension among young people (ages 15–24). Aim To characterise the prevalence of obesity and systolic hypertension in young people aged 15–24 years across Australia. Methods Using data from the 2011–2012 Australian Health Survey, a national cross‐sectional population‐based survey, we included 2163 young people aged 15–24 years. Risk factors were estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Results The prevalence of obesity increased from 8% to 15% through the ages of 15–24 among males, but the prevalence of overweight and obesity were both 14% for females across all age groups. Low levels of physical activity were a strong risk factor for obesity for both males (odds ratio (OR) 5.95, 95% confidence intervals ( CI )1.83–19.36) and females ( OR 3.20 95% CI 0.69–14.87). Low socioeconomic status was associated with obesity among females only (first quintile OR 4.65, 95% CI 1.97–10.99). Although the prevalence of hypertension was low (4% males, 3% females), the prevalence of high normal blood pressure was substantial, especially among males (28% males, 14% females). Conclusions Overweight, obesity and high normal blood pressure were highly prevalent among Australian young people. Low levels of physical activity were identified as a risk factor for obesity for both male and females. Programmes targeting physical activity participation may need to be tailored differently for males and females, with a focus on females during early adolescence but early adult life for males.