The prevalence of hypertension and obesity and effective factors: A cross-sectional bazaar study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypertension/obesity and the effecting factors. Method: This cross-sectional study was done on segments of population that were shopping in 4 bazaars of Bornova, a district of Izmir province in western part of Turkey. In this research sample selection was not used. Between 12 April and 1 June, 2016 individuals who voluntarily had their blood pressure checked were included in the scope of the research (n=1023). Blood pressure was classified according to JNC-8 and during evaluation, borderline values of SBP <140 and SBP >140 were obtained. Also during evaluation borderline values of body mass index (BMI kg/m2) were determined as BMI <30 and BMI 30. SPSS 21 was used for statistical data analysis and p<0.05 was found to be statistically significant. Results: The proportion of those with SBP 140 was 244 (23.9%) and the proportion of those with BMI 30 was 312 (30.5%). The average SBP of individuals with hypertension was 0.22 times (%95 CI: 1.16-0.31) higher than the individuals without hypertension diagnosis, and the obesity rate was 0.49 times (%95 CI: 0.36-0.66) higher.

Conclusions: HT and obesity rates were found high in the people investigated and obesity was determined as an important risk factor for HT. In order to prevent HT and obesity, diagnosis at an early stage is necessary to bring HT under control. Awareness about HT and the health risks it causes should be raised among people and they should be encouraged to make the necessary lifestyle behavior changes.