INTRODUCTION:
Elevated blood pressure in children and adolescents has an ever-increasing prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where it remains, nevertheless, underdiagnosed. It is one of the most common health concerns in children and adolescents that poses a significant public health challenge globally, although it is less recognized. Elevated blood pressure has been proven to be a fast source of growing concern in children and adolescents, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.

METHODS:
This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design; a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select participants. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the study respondents. Data collected from the respondents were processed and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Version 27.0) and R Studio. Dietary patterns were summarized using principal component analysis. The significance level was set at 95% at a p-value < 0.05.

RESULTS:
The observed difference in mean SBP and DBP across BMI categories was not statistically significant (f = 0.795, p > 0.05; f = 1.645, p > 0.05). The mean factor scores among adolescents aged ≤9 years were 0.18 ± 0.90, while those of adolescents aged 10–14 years were -0.07 ± 1.03, and the difference in mean scores between the two age groups was statistically significant (t = 2.061, p < 0.05). Adolescents with moderate adherence to the traditional/plant-based diet had significantly lower odds of elevated diastolic blood pressure compared to those with low adherence (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.20–0.92, p = 0.029).

CONCLUSIONS:
In this Ibadan adolescent sample (n = 335), anthropometric measures were not significantly associated with elevated BP; adherence to a traditional/plant-based dietary pattern was protective for diastolic BP. Findings support the promotion of traditional, plant-based diets in school nutrition programs in Nigeria.