Obesity as a risk factor linked to high blood pressure in ecuadorian labor population

Abstract

Introduction Studies have shown that obesity and high blood pressure are related and constitute a public health problem due to the burden on health worldwide and Ecuador is no exception. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine obesity as a risk factor linked to high blood pressure in employees of a public institution in Ecuador. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, with a population of 18 to 72 years of age, carried out from December 2016 to March 2017, in a local government of Guayas province. The variables studied were sociodemographic, anthropometric to determine the body mass index, measurement of blood pressure. After the informed consent, a control-card was applied. Results: Obesity contributes as a risk factor for high blood pressure with 42.7%, with a predominance in the group of 28 to 37 years of age of the population studied; and obesity grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3, represents 37.3%. People with high blood pressure corresponded to 36.4%, with dominance in the population from 18 to 57 years of age and similarly distributed in these age groups. Discussion overweight and obesity are health problems that are increasing and may present complications related to other diseases such as hypertension. Conclusions: The study concludes that there is an important relationship between obesity and high blood pressure in the research participants. Conclusions: The study concludes that there is an important percentage relationship between obesity and high blood pressure in research participants.