Assessment of correlation between body mass index (bmi) and blood pressure (bp) indices in medical students

Blood pressure has been shown to vary in several health conditions. In adult life, weight gain seems to be an important risk factor for the development of hypertension. The relationship between measures of body mass and blood pressure has been extensively documented, usually with body mass index as the measure of relative weight. Since BMI is the simplest, affordable and noninvasive method of measuring obesity prevalence in a large population, this was adopted to ascertain how it correlates with blood pressure indices. To evaluate relationship between BMI and Blood Pressure indices among 1ST Year M.B.B.S. students of MNR medical college. A total of 235 students, 120 males and 115 females participated in the study conducted between June and July 2015 at MNR Medical College. Their ages ranged between 17 to 20 years were selected as subjects because of easy availability. All students were divided into underweight, normal, over weight according to Western Pacific Regional Organization 2000 (WPRO) BMI classification. Complications of cardiovascular system were determined from the measurement of Blood pressure (BP) indices. Comparison of blood pressure among different groups was made by ANOVA. The First year MBBS students were in the age group of 18 -23 years and male: female was in a ratio of 1:1. The mean height of the male students was 172.6 cms (SD= 5.0) and females155. 24 cms (SD= 7. 1). The mean weight of the Male students was 62.5 kg (SD=7.3); and females 56.9 kg (SD=7.6). Overall, 81% of students were within the normal weight range. Around 10% males and 20% female students were overweight. Obesity was found only in1% of students. The 3% students were underweight and included all the male students. Being overweight is a rising problem of male and female medical students. Both obesity and underweight issues are seen common in students. Carrying excess body fat, puts you at greater risk for health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke.