By studying metabolites in urine samples from 1559 US citizens, researchers identified differences between the two groups. As well as giving urine samples, the participants were asked questions about their diet and had their blood pressure measured four times over three weeks. The researchers then sought links between the metabolites, the foods the participants said they ate and their blood pressure.
They found that diet could explain between a third and a half of the blood pressure difference seen between men in the two groups, and a quarter in women. Most of this is down to different food choices.
Co-author Jeremy Nicholson of Imperial College London says a genetic mechanism may be amplifying the effects of bad diet.
Read the full, original story: Diet can explain half of racial blood pressure puzzle
