Obesity and hypertension are two disorders that go hand in hand, and are a killer pair. Though the relationship between obesity and hypertension is well known, it remains unclear as to the type of association between the two disorders.
Obesity
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), persons with body mass index (BMI) of 25kg/m2 or above are to be diagnosed as overweight and subjects with a BMI of 30kg/m2 or more as obese. International Obesity Task Force estimates that 1.1 billion adults are overweight in the world.
Hypertension
One of the foremost critical signs of life is the heartbeat. When the heart beats, blood is pumped into the arteries and exerts pressure. This pressure is called as systolic pressure. When the heart does not pump blood and is at rest, the pressure falls and this is called diastolic pressure. Your blood pressure is measured in both systolic and diastolic pressures and indicated as two numbers.
Normal blood pressure is 120/80 Hg mm or lower
High blood pressure is 140/90 Hg mm or higher
High blood pressure generally has no symptoms. Typically, high blood pressure doesn’t have any symptoms. But serious problems such as kidney failure, heart failure, heart attack, and stroke may be caused by high blood pressure.
The link between obesity and hypertension
By the year 2025, the number of adults with hypertension is estimated to be 1.56 billion, an increase of ~60% compared to that in the year 2000. The rising prevalence of obesity is recognized as one of the most important risk factors for the development of hypertension.
The danger of developing diabetes, hypertension, or low-density cholesterol begins to raise from a BMI of as low as 21kg/m2. Increase of low-density lipoproteins in the plasma of obese patients enhances the chance of coronary heart disease and roughly 50% of cases of hypertension are secondary to obesity.
Obesity during childhood and the duration of exposure are the factors of risk that lead to premature signs of cardiovascular disease. Obesity results in the structural changes of the heart muscle. Hypertension associated with obesity and elevated viscosity of blood result in the growth of cardiac wall, inducing the thickening of the myocardium (muscle) of the left ventricle of the heart.
There is a linear relationship between obesity and hypertension and exists through-out non-obese range. Okay, now this really makes no sense. It is estimated that 65-75% of hypertension in women and men, respectively is attributable to being overweight and obese.
Build-up of intra-abdominal fat that surrounds the internal organs and deposition of fat in non-fatty tissue may be important in the cause and consequences of obesity hypertension.
Treatments for hypertension
Lifestyle changes go a long way in controlling hypertension. In addition to eating a healthy diet and exercises, your doctor may prescribe some medicines to lower your blood pressure to normal levels.
Following are some of the common medicines your doctor may prescribe to lower your blood pressure.
Water pills (Diuretics) act on kidneys and are used to eliminate extra sodium (salt) and water so that your blood vessels do not have to hold much fluid.
Beta-blockers are the medicines that reduce the load of work on your heart, open your blood vessels and make your heart to beat slower so that blood is pumped through your blood vessels with less force.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (also called ACE inhibitors) relaxes your blood vessels and restricts your body from making angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict.
Angiotensin II receptor blockers (also called ARBs) blocks the effects of angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to narrow and relaxes your blood vessels.
Calcium channel blockers (also called CCBs) block calcium from entering your cells and keep your blood vessels from constricting (becoming narrow).
Alpha-blockers reduce nerve impulses, relax your blood vessels and allow your blood to pass through more easily.
Alpha-beta blockers reduce the nerve impulses and make the heart beat slower so that the blood passes through the vessels with less force.
Centrally acting drugs act on your brain, central nervous system, and reduce the nerve impulses that can increase your heart rate and cause your blood vessels to narrow.
Direct vasodilators relax the muscles in the blood vessel walls, causing the blood vessels to widen.
A natural method of lowering high blood pressure
As you become old, the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) increases. But indulging in regular physical exercise makes a huge difference in controlling hypertension.
Exercise lowers blood pressure
Regular exercise makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can exert less effort to pump more blood. A stronger heart that works less to pump more blood, lessens the force on your arteries, resulting in lowering of your blood pressure.
Regular exercise can also help you to maintain a healthy weight and as such you can avoid being overweight or obese, thus reducing the risk of hypertension.
Type of exercise regimen
You need not attend gym and lift weights for hours for exercise, but the following simple physical activities on regular basis will be of immense help. Plan for 30 minutes of the following aerobic activities per day on most of the days in a week.
- Usual household chores such as mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or scrubbing the floor, etc.
- Active sports such as basketball, tennis, or shuttle badminton, etc.
- Climbing stairs
- Brisk walking
- Jogging
- Bicycling
- Swimming
- Weight training and high blood pressure
For most people though weight training can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure. It can also have long-term benefits in reducing blood pressure, outweighing the risk of a temporary spike.
Remember the following if you include weight training in your fitness program:
- Reduce the risk of injury. Learn and use proper form when lifting.
- Breathe easily and continuously during each lift as holding your breath during exertion can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure.
- Instead of lifting heavy weights for few times, lift lighter weights more times. Heavier weights require more strain and can cause a greater increase in blood pressure.
- Stop your activity right away if you are out of breath or become dizzy or experience chest pain or pressure.
- Get checked by your doctor first and have his permission.
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
The acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is DASH.
Studies show that high blood pressure is reduced by DASH consisting of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods and is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The DASH includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts and reduced amounts of fats, red meats, sweets, and sugared beverages.
Get started with DASH. Easy to adopt.
Change to DASH gradually. Add more vegetables to your lunch or dinner. Have more fruits as often as possible. Reduce the consumption of butter, margarine, or salad dressings. Go for fat-free or low-fat food. Increase dairy products intake.
Downgrade meats as main course to part of the whole meal. But less. Consume only 3 ounces per meal and only two times a day. Increase non-vegetarian servings per meal.
In most industrialized nations including US, the problem of weight gain and obesity is a continuing trend. As obesity is a major cause of hypertension, rising blood pressure and its associated morbidities will continue to bear heath and economic consequences.
Treatment of obesity hypertension should start with or include lifestyle changes and weight reduction. The growing epidemic of obesity hypertension can be combated by resorting to prevention of weight gain and its metabolic consequence, hypertension.
