<b>Association between different cut-off values for overweight/obesity and high blood pressure in the elderly</b> - DOI: 10.4025/reveducfis.v20i3.6212

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the association between different Body Mass Index (BMI) cut-off values and high Blood Pressure (BP) in the elderly. BP, body weight and height were measured in 108 elderly women. The BMI cut-off values of the WHO (1998), - NSI (1992) and Troiano et al. (1996) were used. High BP was observed in 53% of the sample and the prevalence of overweight ranged from 38 to 60.2% according to the different reference values. Elderly women classified as overweight according to the NSI (1992) presented a higher chance of high BP than eutrophic (OR=2.95; 95%CI= 1.13-7.72). For obesity, the WHO (1998) values identified a higher risk (OR=3.63; 95%CI= 1.30-10.15). In conclusion, the cut-off values proposed by the NSI (1992) and WHO (1998) for overweight and obesity, respectively, detected a higher chance of high BP in the sample studied.