Red meat and chicken consumption and its association with high blood pressure and obesity in South Korean children and adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis of KSHES, 2011–2015

BACKGROUND: The impact of meat consumption on high blood pressure (HBP) and obesity in children and adolescents is a subject of debate. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the association between meat consumption and both HBP and obesity in this group. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis using nationally representative samples of children and adolescents aged 9, 12, and 15 years old (n = 136,739) who were included in the Korea School Health Examination Survey (KSHES) for the 2011–2015 period. Multiple linear and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors influencing systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) levels, and to test the strength of these relationships. RESULTS: Adjusted for covariates, 6.3% of those subjects who consumed >5 servings of meat (including beef, pork, and chicken) per week were obese, compared with 9.1% of the subjects who consumed <1 serving of meat/wk (obesity adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21–1.70; P ≤0.001). Those who consumed <1 serving of meat/wk had an HBP prevalence of 8.2%, compared with 7.2% for subjects who consumed >5 servings of meat/wk (systolic HBP adjusted OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.05–1.62; P ≤0.01, diastolic HBP adjusted OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.02–1.54; P <0.05). Obese subjects were estimated to have a higher SBP (β = 7.497, P < 0.001) and DBP (β = 4.123, P <0.001) than subjects who had no excess weight. Compared to subjects who consumed >5 servings of meat/wk, those who consumed <3 servings of meat/wk had a higher SBP (β = 0.574, P <0.001) and DBP (β = 0.376, P = 0.003) after adjusting for BMI. The intake of milk, fruit, and vegetables was not associated with either SBP or DBP (P >0.05). In contrast, BMI was significantly associated with milk, fruits, and vegetables (P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Among children and adolescents, a higher level of meat consumption was associated with lower SBP, DBP, and BMI, and greater height, suggesting that consuming an appropriate amount of meat is important for healthy growth at a young age.