Hypertension affects 28.3 percent of children and adolescents up to age 18 in Brazil. Prehypertension affects 11.6 percent of individuals in this age group. The data come from the Brasil Coração Saudável (Healthy Heart Brazil) study conducted by the Brazilian Society of Cardiology.
Hypertension is more common among boys aged 15 to 18 (40.7%) and among those under 7 (39.1%).
From June 3 to October 7, 2026, 6,092 children and adolescents from 38 schools were surveyed in the states of Minas Gerais (2,973), Rio Grande do Sul (3,059), and São Paulo (60).
Cardiologist Álvaro Avezum, a member of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology and coordinator of the Healthy Heart project, believes that reduced physical activity, combined with an unhealthy diet and lifestyle habits that increase stress, directly contributes to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including obesity and systemic hypertension.
“These factors, when combined, can compromise cardiovascular health and increase the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.”
According to the study, one in three children and adolescents surveyed has excess weight: 19.5 percent are overweight and 13.6 percent are obese.
Overweight rates are highest among girls aged 11 to 14 (24.0%), while obesity rates are highest among boys aged 7 to 10 (17.1%).
Among those with obesity, nearly half have hypertension (48.4%). The higher the child’s weight, the higher the prevalence of hypertension, reaching 60.5 percent among obese adolescents aged 15 to 18.
Screen time
Another finding from the study is that 59 percent of children and adolescents spend more than three hours a day in front of screens, while 66 percent engage in just one to two hours of physical activity per week. Of these, 93 percent exercise at school. Cellphones (86%) and TVs (80%) are the most commonly used screens.
Source: Agência Brasil