Obesity is a global pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 167 million people will be overweight or obese by 2025.

Obesity can lead to many serious health issues, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. This is why weight management is critical to ensuring a healthy life.

What is considered obese?

Obesity is defined as a weight ≥20% above the ideal weight taking into consideration your height, gender, and age, and it can also be diagnosed by body mass index (BMI). While a BMI of 25.9-29 is considered overweight, a BMI over 30 is obese.

How Obesity Causes Health Issues

Obesity is more than just a cosmetic problem. It is a complex disease where excessive amounts of body fat may lead to various medical problems, such as:

  • Type-2 diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Dyslipidemia
  • Cardiovascular problems
  • Congestive heart failures
  • Respiratory disorders
  • Bone/joint damage
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  • Kidney diseases
  • Stroke
  • Cancer

Can Obesity Cause Hypertension?

Yes, it can. In fact, obesity is a major risk for hypertension. Studies confirm that around 75% of obese people are hypertensive. BMI and blood pressure are directly linked. Increased blood pressure is seen with higher levels of BMI. In morbid obesity with BMI higher than 35, hypertension can be life-threatening.

How Obesity Causes Hypertension

The root cause of obesity is insulin resistance. Obese people tend to have hyperinsulinemia—too much insulin in their system. Let’s take a look at how obesity increases the risk of developing hypertension:

  • High insulin stimulates the autonomic nervous system (especially the sympathetic nervous system). This causes a spike in blood pressure.
  • High insulin also stiffens the arteries, which interferes with the blood flow.
  • Obese people usually have high cholesterol as well. Cholesterol and calcium can accumulate in arteries, narrowing them and making it difficult for the blood to flow freely.
  • The constriction puts extra pressure on the blood vessels, thereby increasing the blood pressure.
  • High insulin also causes sodium retention, which results in fluid accumulation. The excess fluid puts pressure on the kidney, which then builds up in your system, leading to an increase in blood pressure.

Obesity and Low Blood Pressure

Not all obese people have hypertension. You may have heard of obese people complaining of feeling faint and dizzy. Low blood pressure can occur if blood flow is too slow and insufficient blood reaches the brain.

Among overweight or obese people, those having large thigh circumferences were found to have lower blood pressure, in comparison to those with smaller thigh circumferences.

The good news is even a modest amount of weight loss can significantly lower blood pressure in hypertensive obese individuals.

What Can You Do to Manage Hypertension Caused by Obesity?

  1. Reduce Your Insulin

This may be achieved by diet and lifestyle changes, such as:

  • Intermittent fasting
  • Eliminating snacks
  • Following a low-carb diet or ketogenic diet
  • Daily exercise
  • Portion management
  • Avoiding sugar
  1. Increase Your Potassium Intake

Potassium supplements may have a significant effect on reducing your blood pressure. It may dilate the smooth muscle in the arteries and keep the vascular system from becoming stiff. Consider eating plenty of potassium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, avocado, etc.

  1. Reduce Stress

Stress results in a high amount of the hormone cortisol. This may potentially cause sodium (salt) retention and reduced potassium which are reasons enough for hypertension. High cortisol may also affect the sympathetic nervous system. By reducing stress, you may be able to regulate your blood pressure better.

  1. Increase Your Fiber Intake

Dietary fiber may be effective in decreasing blood pressure as it can potentially improve blood sugar stability, decrease insulin resistance, and support healthy weight loss.

The Final Note

The effect obesity has on hypertension is not to be taken lightly.

Be it excess pressure on the organs and blood vessels, increased inflammation, constriction of the arterial walls, or hyperinsulinemia, approximately 40-50% of hypertension cases are attributed to obesity.

The effect of weight loss on hypertension is significant. Even 10 pounds of weight loss can lower your blood pressure.

 

Resources

  1. https://www.who.int/ news/item/04-03-2022-world-obesity-day-2022-accelerating-action-to-stop-obesity
  2. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/ adult/causes.html#:~: text=Obesity is serious because it,and some types ofcancer.
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/ pmc/articles/PMC5038894/
  4. https://www.heart.org/en/ health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings
  5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/ pmc/articles/PMC5038894/
  6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/ S2212877812000130
  7. https://journals.lww.com/ jhypertension/Abstract/ 2010/06001/Normal_Blood_ Pressure_in_Obesity_ Is_Associated.1231.aspx
  8. https://ec.bioscientifica.com/ view/journals/ec/9/4/ EC-19-0539.xml
  9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/10832771/
  10. https://www.ahajournals.org/ doi/10.1161/01.hyp. 0000158264.36590.19
  11. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(16)30889-0
  12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/26923351/

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