At 16, the rush of blood in Deepak's vein should have been due to falling in love. But it had something to do with his health. By the time his blood pressure was checked, the headaches he used to have already resulted in poor performance in his board exams.
This is not an isolated case. Many adolescents in the country around Deepak's age are falling to high blood pressure or hypertension, a condition uncommon for such a young age.
Hypertension in children is fast becoming a matter of growing concern. According to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Institute of Home Economics and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one in every three teenagers in New Delhi is likely to have hypertension.
The three-year study, 'Lipid profile and blood glucose levels of children from affluent families,' surveyed children, between 13 and 18 years of age, in five public schools in the capital catering to the affluent segments. Out of about 800 children surveyed, 25 per cent of children had high cholesterol levels. Nearly 30 per cent teenagers had systolic blood pressure more than 120 mm Hg.
"Sedentary lifestyle, faulty dietary patterns, excessive academic pressure and high parental expectations are leading adolescents towards various health problems," says principal investigator Dr Santosh Jain Passi, Reader, Institute of Home Economics, Delhi University.
"This trend is seen more amongst children from affluent segments of the society because they are more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles due to easier access to junk food and general inactivity. But we cannot say the other group of children have immunity to this disease," says Dr Passi.
Dr S C Manchanda, former head of the department of cardiology, AIIMS, says, "While the West is adopting our culture and dietary habits, we are copying the trends which they are discarding now. In the US, smoking has come down and about two crore (20 million) people are practicing yoga. They are learning from our culture. We are following their life patterns without adjusting it to our culture and environment."
The researchers say if the children do not become more active and make dietary changes, there will be an outbreak of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in coming years.
Mild to moderately high blood pressure usually has no symptoms and is called the 'silent killer.' Recurrent headaches, blurred vision, lack of sleep, dizzy spells could be indicators, but not always. The only way to find out whether blood pressure is higher than normal is periodic monitoring.
"A multi-pronged strategy is needed to combat this trend," says Dr Manchanda. "There is need to sensitise children, parents, even teachers about the long-term complications of this kind of lifestyle."
"Under the study we have also issued health certificates to the children indicating their blood pressure and Body Mass Index, which was a part of our effort to create sensitisation about the growing trend," adds Dr Passi.
But to create awareness at mass scale, Dr Manchanda feels, "Children should be made aware about the positive effects of a vegetarian diet. Physical exercise in the form of sports should be increased. Besides, we need to get the blood pressure of children checked periodically."
While there is need to curb the number of children falling prey to 'the silent killer,' researchers say it may not be a bad idea to ensure that children play a little more, study regularly without last minute pressure and eat a little judiciously with greater emphasis on inclusion of fresh vegetable and fruits in their diets which provides ample amount of dietary fibres and antioxidants.
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