Eating Out Often Can Increase Risk of High Blood Pressure in Young Adults

Hypertension is the leading cause of death associated with cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that even eating out just once a week could increase the risk of suffering from high blood pressure.

Studies have shown that young adults with pre-hypertension are at higher risk of hypertension. Eating meals away from home is associated with higher calorie intake, higher saturated fat and salt intake, which are the causes of hypertension.

A research team at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, surveyed 501 university-going young adults aged 18 to 40 years to study the behavior associated with hypertension in a young adult population in South East Asia.

The study found that 27.4 percent of the total population suffered from pre-hypertension, and 38 percent ate more than 12 meals away from home per week. Pre-hypertension was much more prevalent in men (49 percent) than in women (9 percent).

"Our research highlights lifestyle factors associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension that are potentially modifiable, and would be applicable to young adults globally, especially those of Asian descent," said lead researcher professor Tazeen Jafar from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore.

The researchers said that eating just one extra meal away from home raised the chances of pre-hypertension by six percent.

The findings of the study showed that those who had pre-hypertension or hypertension were more likely to eat more meals away from home per week, have higher BMI, reduced physical activity and smokers.





Source: Medindia