The first ever study to show a link between eating meals away from home and high blood pressure has been published in the American Journal of Hypertension.

Share on Pinterest The researchers believe that their findings are particularly applicable to young adults of Asian descent.

Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease-associated death.

In hypertension, the greater the force of blood pushing up against the walls of the blood vessels, the harder the heart has to pump, which can lead to heart failure and heart attack. People with hypertension are also at increased risk for kidney failure, aneurysm and stroke.

About 70 million adults and 2 million children in the US are affected by hypertension.

Previous studies have found that eating meals away from home is associated with a higher intake of calories, saturated fat and salt – eating behaviors believed to be linked with high blood pressure.

To investigate whether eating out could therefore be associated with hypertension, the researchers behind the new study surveyed 501 young adults aged 18-40 who attended university in Singapore. The surveys collected information on the students’ blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), lifestyle, physical activity levels and how often they eat out.

Statistical analysis of the data showed that:

27.4% of the students had pre-hypertension

49% of the male participants and 9% of the female participants had pre-hypertension

38% of the students ate more than 12 meals away from home per week.

The researchers found that students with hypertension or pre-hypertension were more likely than participants without hypertension or pre-hypertension to eat out more often, have a higher BMI, have lower levels of physical activity and be current smokers.

Significantly, the study also found that eating just one extra meal out per week is associated with a 6% increase in risk for pre-hypertension.