Abstract

Introduction. The objective of the study was to determine the association of blood pressure (BP) values with parameters of adiposity and level of physical activity (NAF) in schoolchildren and adolescents in the Araucanía region of Chile. Materials and methods. Descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study that considered a sample of 1.125 subjects, boys and girls between 6 and 13 years old. Adiposity parameters were analyzed: body mass index, waist and arm circumference, bicipital, tricipital, subscapular and suprailiac fold and% fat mass. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) and NAF were also analyzed. Results. 60.4% of the sample is normotensive; 23.6% preHTA and 16.0% HT, without significant association between BP and sex (p> 0.05). For the entire sample, there is a significant correlation between SBP and all the adiposity parameters studied (p <0.001; p <0.050). For DBP, only the 6 to 8-year-old group presented a significant association with all these parameters (p <0.001; p <0.050). The NAF was associated with the PA classification. This association is statistically significant in the 6 to 8-year-old group (p <0.050). Conclusions. A high frequency of high BP is evidenced in schoolchildren from a region of Chile. Significant associations were identified between BP with some measures of body adiposity and NAF in the study sample. This information can be of great importance for the prediction of hypertension in childhood in the context of primary health care.