A to Z Health Guide 2007

When kids become obese, their blood pressure tends to climb along with their weight. As America's obesity epidemic worsens, an estimated 1.5 million children are now unknowingly hypertensive, according to a study in JAMA. Before they can be helped, their hypertension has to be diagnosed — and it's never too soon. Hypertension puts kids at risk of long-term organ damage and other health problems in adulthood. Experts suggest that doctors assess a child's risk of hypertension starting as young as age 3 and consider sex, height and weight in determining the child's proper blood-pressure range.