Weight Loss Key for
Treating High Blood Pressure

Reducing body weight should be a "major component" in the treatment of high blood pressure, new research suggests. For every kilogram lost, blood pressure falls about one point, the authors found.

Dr. Johanna M. Geleijnse, of Wageningen University, in the Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed data from previous studies to determine the effect of weight reduction on blood pressure. Included in the analysis were 25 trials with 4874 subjects.

Losing 5 kg of weight as a result of diet, exercise, or both led to a reduction in blood pressure of about four points, according to the report in the medical journal Hypertension.

Subjects with an average weight loss of greater than 5 kg had much larger blood pressure reductions than subjects who lost less weight. This degree of weight loss was tied to blood pressure reductions of five to six points.

Blood pressure reductions were also larger in populations who were taking drugs that lower blood pressure, Geleijnse and colleagues report.

The team concludes that, given the increasing rates of obesity, weight control "is of the utmost importance" if high blood pressure rates are not to follow a similar trend.

SOURCE: Hypertension, November 2003.

Reference Source 89

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