Here is one of the teen health articles related to hypertension.
When we were growing up, we looked forward everyday to some after school sports. That was the best part of the day ! High jump, long jump, relays .. but nowadays kids are increasing spending more time indoors everyday.
Hypertension and high blood pressure is a medical complication that is usually a problem as you grow older, but teen hypertension is dangerously on the increase, as a result of poor lifestyle and decreased cardiovascular exercise.
Many educational institutions are decreasing the amount of physical exercise students are required to do in a week, which in turn is having a negative effect on their general health. There is an increased preferance to spend more time using computers than playing outdoors. A lack of exercise leads to weakened heart muscles, which in turn can increase the chances of high blood pressure.
In the last 15 years teen hypertension has increased from 1% to as much as 5%. Over use of alcohol and drugs (even nicotine from smoking) are other major contributors to high blood pressure in teenagers. So teens may end up suffering sooner than they think during that ‘rebellious phase’.
Another cause of high blood pressure in teenagers was revealed by the National Institutes of Health recently, causing an average of 4mmHg difference in blood pressure. Lack of sleep (generally classified as below 6 ½ hours) made a significant difference to the blood pressure of teenagers, making their readings much higher.
Teen hypertension is so rarely identified because teenager’s bodies are much more flexible and able to ‘bounce back’ after binge drinking and excessive intake of fatty foods and salt. The lack of exterior damage from treating their bodies poorly tends to lead teens to think that there isn’t a problem. Even while the heart is straining under the pressure. And abuse of the body will start showing over a period of time leading to problems like high blood pressure.
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