Association Between Obesity and Blood Pressure in Common Korean People

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of high blood pressure (BP) and wide pulse pressure (PP) with obesity among common Korean people. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study analyzed data from the Seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017). The associations of BP with body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHT2R) were investigated using their lump mean values. RESULTS: The BPs of males and females increased with BMI, the PP of females increased with BMI and then decreased, and the PP of males is nearly independent of BMI. The BPs of males and females increased to their maximum values with WHT2R and then decreased. The PPs of males and females increased with WHT2R. CONCLUSION: BMI can be used as a useful predictor for high BP, and WHT2R can be used as a useful predictor for wide PP.