Prevalence of Malnutrition among People Living with Obesity and Hypertension

Background: Obesity is a growing public health problem and should be kept in mind when treating patients with hypertension because it is a strong predictor of uncontrolled hypertension. As obesity and its metabolic and vascular effects remained during the years, research has provided evidence justifying the management of metabolic components in obese individuals. The purpose of this review is to provide more evidence justifying the management of metabolic problems in obese hypertensive individuals.

Conclusion: Obesity is a multi factorial pathology and chronic diet related non-communicable disease. The most widely used parameter for it diagnosis is the body mass index (BMI) which is not suitable for assessing the body fat and other metabolic components. Obesity specifically abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor for hypertension.

Recommendation: Anthropometrics like the waist circumference, waist to height ratio (WHtR), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and metabolic/biochemical components should be considered in the diagnosis of obesity.