Impact of different blood groups on body mass index and blood pressure

Obesity is considered as a public health problem that affects all age groups in the population. Genetic factors are considered as one of the non-modifiable risk factors, causing obesity. Hypertension is a chronic medical condition that is associated with vague symptoms. The ABO blood type is one of the fundamental genetic factors that can give important information for early detection of risky population. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different blood groups on body mass index and blood pressure. The design of this study is a cross-sectional study, included 250 participants (144 males and 106 females), aged between 18-70 years were selected from the population of Al-Najaf Governorate, Iraq, through a period which extends from October 2019 to February 2020. The blood groups were determined for each participant; blood pressure and body mass index were also measured. The results of a current study revealed that from this 250 participants there was 115 were obese person, 82 were overweight person, 51 were normal weight, and 2 were underweight persons. In the obese group, the blood group B has the highest percentage (45.2% ) followed by blood group A and O that were found to have the same percentage (22.6%), while the blood group AB has the lower percentage (9.6%). On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between hypertension and ABO blood groups.