Too much TV watching rersult in high blood pressure in obese children

The results of a latest study shows that obese children who spend lot of time while watching TV have higher chances of being hit by high blood pressure problem compared to the obese children who spend less time with TV.

Increased psychological pressure and eating lots of junk food while watching TV could be a factor in the relationship according to principal investigator Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer of the University of California, San Diego.

Dr Jeffrey and his team found that children who watch 2 to 4 hours of TV daily have 2.5 times more chances of having high blood pressure as compared to other obese that watch less TV. And the children, who watch more than 4 hours of TV daily, have more than three times of being hit by high blood pressure.

The investigators evaluated 546 children between the ages of 4 and 17 and who were going through obesity treatment. 43 percent of found to have high blood pressure problem.

To investigate this relationship, they evaluated 546 children between 4 and 17 years old who were seeking treatment for obesity. Forty-three percent had high blood pressure. Dr. Jeffrey and his team noted that children who watch more TV may also be eating saltier and fatty foods and that could result in high blood pressure.

Blood pressure is often not measured in children, and if it is measured, "it's often not done correctly," Schwimmer added. "I would encourage parents of children to raise the issue of blood pressure with their child's doctor."