Prevalence of hypertension and obesity in the old aged subjects belonging to the region of delhi (ncr)

According to WHO, Hypertension is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently high pressure. Normal adult blood pressure is 120mm Hg when the heart contracts (systolic) and 80mm Hg when the heart relaxes (diastolic).When systolic pressure is equal to or above 140mm Hg and diastolic pressure is equal to or above 90mm Hg the blood pressure is considered to be raised or high (WHO, 2015). Obesity is also a major contributing factor towards hypertension. There are at least 970 million obese people worldwide with elevated blood pressure (World Heart Federation, 2015) Looking at the severity of its occurrence a need was felt to conduct a study on hypertension in subjects belonging to the region of Delhi (NCR). Dietary interventions particularly potassium intakes have demonstrated their ability to reduce blood pressure in humans. The present study was carried out on 40 hypertensive patients belonging to the region of Delhi (NCR). The general information, medical history and dietary survey was collected through interview cum questionnaire method. The Blood pressure was measured by Sphygmomanometer. The subjects were having very high BP than prescribed normal range by WHO. The mean nutrient intake viz. calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium was calculated by seven day dietary recall method. It was found that hypertensive subjects were taking more amount of sodium in their diets. The BMI of the subjects was calculated and they were categorized according to grades of obesity. Therefore it was concluded that the subjects having high BMI were suffering from hypertension. The knowledge of nutrition education and diet was imparted for the prevention and control of hypertension.