Improving Hypertension in Children with Activity Tracking
Ayah Elmaghrabi, MD, discusses the link between activity and hypertension
Ayah Elmaghrabi, MD: Hi, I'm Ayah Elmaghrabi. I'm a pediatric nephrologist here at UVA Health Children's, and my primary interest is hypertension in children. Previous studies have, in adults and very few studies in children, have proven that if you increase the activity, you can get a healthier body mass index and a healthier blood pressure.
And we are hoping if we prove that by giving the child an activity tracker, we can help them move more and be more active and ultimately get a healthier body mass index and a healthier blood pressure.
We know that the prevalence of obesity is increasing, especially since the pandemic in 2020. We are facing 25 to 30 percent of our children and adolescents have a high body mass index. That means in the overweight and obesity range. I'm very excited to start this small pilot study because we have been seeing all these children with primary hypertension, secondary to high body mass index, and we really want to help these children get a better lifestyle. So we want a better future for our children.
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