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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.

Sec. Hypertension

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1582936

Association of Body Composition and Cardiovascular Fitness with Hypertension in a Middle-Aged Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Junga  LeeJunga Lee1*Jisuk  ChaeJisuk Chae1*Mihee  KimMihee Kim1Soo Young  JungSoo Young Jung1Seung Don  YooSeung Don Yoo2Si-Hyuck  KangSi-Hyuck Kang3Kyesan  LeeKyesan Lee1Jung-Hyun  KimJung-Hyun Kim1
  • 1Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 2Department of Surgery, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 3Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the association between cardiovascular fitness, body composition (particularly abdominal obesity), and hypertension in middle-aged adults, considering the influence of factors such as age, gender, smoking status and alcohol status. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 60 healthy adults (mean aged 54.23±7.34) recruited. Participants underwent assessments of anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure, and physical fitness. The primary outcome was the prevalence of hypertension. Secondary outcomes included body composition measures (body fat mass, body lean mass and waist circumference), and physical fitness assessments (grip strength, sit-ups, sit-and-reach test, and Young Men’s Christian Association step (YMCA) test). Participants with hypertension had significantly higher body fat mass and waist circumference compared to those without hypertension. RESULTS: The risk of hypertension was significantly increased by 16.8% with a 1 kg increase in body fat and by 14.0% with a 1 cm increase in waist circumference. The risk of hypertension was significantly increased in the group with hypertension accompanied by abdominal obesity as cardiovascular fitness, measured by the YMCA step test, decreased (Adjusted OR: 0.339, 95% CI: 0.170-0.679). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the significant association between abdominal obesity, reduced cardiovascular fitness, and hypertension in middle-aged Korean adults. Abdominal obesity and low cardiovascular fitness were identified as independent risk factors for hypertension in this population. These results suggest that weight management to reduce abdominal obesity and regular physical activity to promote cardiovascular fitness are key to the prevention and management of hypertension.

Keywords: Hypertension, abdominal obesity, Body Composition, cardiovascular fitness, middle-aged adults

Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Lee, Chae, Kim, Jung, Yoo, Kang, Lee and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Junga Lee, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Jisuk Chae, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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