Eating out just once a week raises your risk of suffering from high blood pressure . Those who frequently dine out or feast on takeaways are more likely to have pre-hypertension – elevated blood pressure – with just one extra meal out a week raising the odds by six per cent , a study found . Eating out is associated with higher calorie , saturated fat and salt intake – all causes of high blood pressure . Scroll down for video . A study found that just one extra meal out a week raising the odds of having high blood pressure by six per cent . Stock photo . A team at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore found 27.4 per cent of the population suffered from pre-hypertension . Of these , 38 per cent ate more than 12 meals out per week , the American Journal of Hypertension reported . Professor Tazeen Jafar , of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore ( Duke-NUS ) , designed and supervised a study to find behaviour associated with hypertension in a young adult population in South East Asia . Her team surveyed 501 university students , aged 18 to 40 , in Singapore . Figures on blood pressure , body mass index ( BMI ) and lifestyle , including meals eaten away from home and physical activity levels , were collected . The association with hypertension was then determined . Researchers in Singapore found those who frequently dine out or feast on takeaways are more likely to have pre-hypertension . Stock photo . Using statistical analysis , the researchers found that pre-hypertension was found in 27.4 per cent of the total population , and 38 per cent ate more than 12 meals away from home per week ; while the gender breakdown showed that pre-hypertension was much more prevalent in men ( 49 per cent ) than in women ( nine per cent ) . The findings showed those who had pre-hypertension or hypertension were more likely to eat more meals away from home per week , have a higher mean BMI , have lower mean physical activity levels , and be current smokers . The novel finding of the study , published online by the American Journal of Hypertension , was the link that Dr. Jafar 's team was able to show between pre-hypertension and hypertension with meals eaten away from home . The researchers said that what was also significant was that even eating one extra meal out , raised the odds of pre-hypertension by six per cent . Dr Jafar said : 'While there have been studies conducted in the United States and Japan to find behaviours associated with hypertension , very few have surveyed a South East Asian population . 'Our research plugs that gap and highlights lifestyle factors associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension that are potentially modifiable , and would be applicable to young adults globally , especially those of Asian descent . ' She said future studies should examine the effect of lifestyle modification programmes on blood pressure levels of at-risk people .
Those who often dine out are more likely to have elevated blood pressure . Eating out is associated with higher calorie , saturated fat and salt intake . Researchers found 27.4 % of Singapore 's population had pre-hypertension . Of these , more than 12 ate more than a third meals out every week .