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Commentary on ‘Sugar-sweetened beverages and school students’ hypertension in urban areas of Nanjing’

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 33, pages 87–88 (2019)Cite this article

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The study in the current edition by Qin et al. aims to investigate the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSBs) consumption and hypertension in urban areas of Nanjing. A validated questionnaire was used on 10,091 participants (Grade 4 mean age was 9.04 years ±0.38 and Grade 7 mean age was 12.03 years ±0.41). The blood pressure was measured twice by registered physicians using mercury sphygmomanometers. The study found a significantly positive association between the consumption of SSBs and hypertension among school students.

Excess sugar consumption is considered a primary driver of cardio-metabolic disease onset in both adult and children [1, 2]. The most commonly consumed sources of added sugar in the diet come from table sugar, sweetened squash (sweetened concentrate to which water is added), jam, cookies, sweetened soft drinks (carbonated), sweets (candy) and breakfast cereals [3]. Sugar intake in 6–9 year olds in South Africa ranged from 22 g in the Eastern Cape to 57 g in the Western Cape Province [4]. In a rural South African community study sugar intake ranged from 7.2% to 11.7% for undernourished and obese children aged 6 to 12 years [5]. These children obtained their food from several sources, one of which is shops at schools. The prevalence of hypertension for the Ellisras rural children of South Africa aged 6 to 13 years was reported to be 1 to 5.8% for boys and 3.1 to 11.4% for girls, and that of overweight from 1.1% to 2.9% for boys and 0.6 to 4.6% for girls [6]. The dietary pattern that predisposes cardiovascular risk factors starts in childhood [7, 8] as was the case in the current study. Furthermore, high SSB consumption was considered a risk factor for the onset of metabolic syndrome (Mets) [9, 10]. The association between Mets and SSBs is key to uprooting the dynamics of cardiovascular diseases in the world and reduces cardiovascular mortality by 25% in 2025 as alluded to by the World Heart Federation.

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  1. Department of Physiology and Environmental Health, University of Limpopo, Limpopo, South Africa

    K. D. Monyeki

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Correspondence to K. D. Monyeki.

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Monyeki, K.D. Commentary on ‘Sugar-sweetened beverages and school students’ hypertension in urban areas of Nanjing’. J Hum Hypertens 33, 87–88 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-018-0143-1

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