• Xiaofan Guo, Xingang Zhang, Yang Li, Xinghu Zhou, Hongmei Yang, Hui Ma, Ning Wang, Jihong Liu, Liqiang Zheng, and Yingxian Sun.
• Department of Cardiology, China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China.
• Pediatr Cardiol. 2012 Feb 1; 33 (2): 222-8.

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and differences of healthy lifestyles among children and adolescents differing in blood pressure status.MethodsA cross-sectional study analyzed 5,270 children and adolescents ages 5-18 years. Anthropometric measurements and information on six healthy lifestyles (normal body mass index [BMI], appropriate physical activity, sufficient sleep, appropriate breakfast, no smoking, and no alcohol use) were collected by well-trained personnel.ResultsThe prevalence of healthy lifestyles was relatively low. Only 22.4% of the study participants had all six healthy lifestyle characteristics. The participants with prehypertension were less likely to have a normal BMI (odds ratio [OR] 0.362; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.292-0.449) or to be nonsmokers (OR 0.793; 95% CI 0.64-0.982) than those with normal blood pressure. Overall, the prehypertensive participants had a lower likelihood of having four to six (especially all 6) of the healthy lifestyles (OR 0.688; 95% CI 0.561-0.844) than their normotensive counterparts. In addition, some socioeconomic factors, such as family income, had an impact on healthy life habits.ConclusionAmong children and adolescents, poor prehypertensive status was associated with a low likelihood of healthy lifestyles. Evaluation of multiple healthy lifestyles as a whole should receive more attention for better prevention and control of high blood pressure.

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