On the rise: what causes high blood pressure in young adults

What causes high blood pressure in young adults? 

Millennials are less healthy than Gen X members were at the same age, in countries such as the UK and US. Aged between 29-44 years in 2025, Millennials are more likely to face conditions such as high blood pressure, l'hypercholestérolémie, and diabète de type 2 in their thirties, compared to the generation before them. 

Hypertension artérielle (hypertension) occurs when your heart has to pump harder for your blood to pass through narrower blood vessels. This leaves you more vulnerable to potentially life-threatening health issues, such as heart attack or stroke. It also makes you more susceptible to damaging other parts of your body, for example, your kidneys, brain, and eyes.  

Some people have a greater chance of having high blood pressure due to factors outside of their control. Having parents with this health condition, being born with a low weight, and having Black African or Black Caribbean heritage are examples of this. 

Yet, there are also things within your control. These are the lifestyle factors that are more commonplace among people under 50 than they ever have been before.  

In countries such as the UK and US, the average diet contains far more processed foods than it used to. From fast food to microwave meals, les aliments ultra-transformés (AUT) are generally high in ingredients that elevate blood pressure. 

Une étude a même révélé que les personnes qui consomment beaucoup d'aliments ultra-transformés ont 23 % plus de chances de développer une hypertension artérielle¹.  

If you eat lots of processed foods, you're also probably not getting enough whole grains. These foods - which include unprocessed oats, brown rice, and quinoa - help to lower blood pressure by supplying a mineral called potassium. 

UPFs et obésité

A diet including UPFs is also typically high calorie et addictif. As a result, it's a key factor in the ever-increasing obesity rates in the UK and US.

Having high blood pressure is intimately linked with obesity. Excess weight gain raises blood pressure in several ways, affecting hormones, the nervous system, kidneys, and stomach (abdominal) organs.

What about alcohol? 

Alcohol can affect the muscles in your blood vessels. Those under 50 are generally drinking less than previous generations, but make no mistake, the amount of alcohol consumed by the average adult is still high.

Plus vous buvez, plus vos chances de développer une hypertension artérielle augmentent. Cela est particulièrement vrai si vous avez plus de 35 ans. Un verre par jour peut augmenter vos chances. Rappelez-vous, les boissons alcoolisées sont généralement riches en calories, ce qui contribue également à un gain de poids excessif - un autre facteur important pour l'hypertension artérielle.

High blood pressure is also linked with being inactive. So, how much you are moving is also very important.

En général, les jeunes adultes et les adultes d'âge moyen sont beaucoup moins mobiles dans leurs activités quotidiennes que les générations précédentes. La technologie moderne et les industries jouent un rôle crucial dans cela.

Being physically active not only helps control your blood pressure by aiding healthy weight loss. It also strengthens your heart and reduces stress - all of which is good for blood pressure. Aim for at least 150 minutes - two and a half hours - of moderate intensity exercise a week.

L'exercice modéré comprend la marche rapide, la natation, le jardinage, le jogging léger et le tennis.

There's much about modern life that can stress us out, from work burnout to social media anxiety. 

Ongoing stress, common in today's society, can increase blood pressure. When you're stressed for a long time, this sends your nervous system into over-drive. It's thought that this triggers inflammation and causes blood vessels to narrow, so blood can't flow as easily around your body. 

The relationship between stress and high blood pressure is complex. As difficult as it may seem, you need to address the route of the issue. This will vary for different people.

Long gone are the days when cigarettes were advertised as healthy status symbols. Yet, smoking hasn't fallen out of favour among younger adults as much as health experts had hoped.  

En Angleterre, une étude de décembre 2023 a révélé que le déclin constant du tabagisme au cours des 20 dernières années s'est presque arrêté depuis la pandémie de COVID-19. Cela n'était pas dû à moins de personnes arrêtant de fumer, mais à plus de personnes adoptant cette habitude dangereuse pour la première fois².  

In recent years, a huge cultural trend for e-cigarettes - or vapes - has also raised the alarm among doctors. First welcomed around 20 years ago to help smokers quit, vapes are now also thought to cause life-threatening side-effects. 

It's well established that tobacco smoking raises blood pressure, because it makes blood vessels work less efficiently. More recently, studies have shown that the fumes breathed in when vaping have the same effect. 

1. Oliveira da Silva Scaranni et al : Aliments ultra-transformés, changements de la pression artérielle et incidence de l'hypertension. 

2. Cancer Research UK : Le déclin des taux de tabagisme a stagné pendant la pandémie.