Obesity and Hypertension Perfect Formula for Disaster

The world is burdened with not just economic struggle and natural calamities, it is also suffering from different sickness and diseases that mankind cannot resolve. Yes, diseases are still the number one causes of deaths worldwide and the hardest part is, most of this diseases can be prevented to prolong life’s mortality. The two most alarming health condition today are obesity and hypertension.

There is a big relevance of both hypertension and being obese, both of which are increasing in numbers in a global scale. From the last decade onwards, the estimated number of adults who are suffering from hypertension had increased by 60% and is expected to hit 1.6 billion by the year 2021 The same numbers are said to cause obesity, which is the number one risk factor for hypertension. Not only that, most obesity-related hypertension is also an indication of other diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, kidney problems and many others.

This article will give you the relationship between obesity and hypertension and why it is the perfect formula for health disaster. I will give you the risk factors for both conditions as well as its causes and preventive maintenance to avoid health complications. I assure you that you will be amazed how this two health conditions can be more complicated than most of you initially thought.

Obesity and Hypertension – Facts that you should know

Obesity is a continuous increase in body fat which occurs in both men and women at any age group, even in babies. This condition can be measured by using the Body Mass Index measurements which includes your height and weight details. A body mass index that is equivalent to 30.0 and above is considered obese while 25.0 up to 29.9 is already overweight. In recent researches, the approximate number of obese individuals already reached over a billion while 10% of this are children.

There are several risk factors why most people gains too much weight that fast. If you have been following this blog for a while now, you might already be aware of those said factors. This includes genetics, metabolic rate, psychological factors, sociocultural, lifestyles, high calorie diet, a combination of these factors and many others. Because of this, obesity has become the number one preventable disease and one of the primary causes of premature deaths worldwide, overtaking smoking and other bad habits.

While an individual can inevitably avoid gaining excess body weight due to the said factors, obesity on the other hand is also an important risk factors for most known diseases today. One of those risk factors are coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, cancers and of course hypertension.

Hypertension or also known as High Blood Pressure, occurs when the blood flow coming from the heart is interrupted or blocked due to the thickening on the walls of arteries. The blood now will not be able to pass through these arteries, making it more rigid because of the loss of its elasticity. Without oxygen and other nutrients from the blood, the normal blood circulation disrupts and will result to an increase of blood pressure.

There are numerous factors why high blood pressure occurs, this includes obesity, stress, unhealthy diet, smoking, too much heat, no exercise, sleep deprivation, old age, family history, too much alcohol consumption and other lifestyle and environmental factors. Symptoms of hypertension includes headache, vision problems, dizziness, pain in the back of the neck, heart palpitations and difficulty in speaking.

Based on those facts, obesity does not just cause hypertension, it can also increase your cardiovascular risks and if you have metabolic abnormalities or tendencies, this risks can be present at a very young age and may progress without any noticeable symptoms. If this is the case, then a child can develop hypertension in a very young age as well as other risk factors that were said earlier. This information is based on clinical studies but the exact scientific link between obesity and hypertension, as well as increased cardiovascular risks are not fully explained.

However, there are factors that are said to greatly affect the relationship between this two health conditions which includes neuroendocrine mechanisms and also other factors resulting to adipose tissues. The reason why obesity increases your risk for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases is through activating the following systems:

capsiplexRenin-angiotensin-aldosteron system is responsible for managing the blood volume of the body along with the sympathetic nervous system. Once obesity strikes, improper blood pressure will occur which leads to hypertension. The adipose tissue meanwhile leads to unstable functioning of the kidney, which also constitutes to high blood pressure. Also, renal sodium reabsorption also causes hypertension

Furthermore, obesity-caused hypertension is also due to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance which is also mainly due to metabolic abnormalities. This is the reason why more and more obese patients also do have diabetes, which is also a big contributor to heart problems. Experts suggests that obesity doesn’t only play an important part of developing heart diseases, it could also cause different types of renal injuries such as tubular damage which is commonly diagnosed in hypertensive patients.

It is important to remember that not all obese and overweight individuals are at risk of cardiovascular diseases unless they have hypertension (although most obese are hypertensive). This means that hypertension doesn’t necessarily the main cause of different heart problems, unless of course if hypertension is present.

In contrast, hypertensive patients are also at risk for weight gain. Several studies with regards to obesity and hypertension shows that normal weight but hypertensive people are at higher risk for becoming obese. So this means that obese people can result to hypertension, while hypertensive-slim people are prone to weight gain or much worse, obesity.

Based on these information, obesity has become the sole risk factor for the development and progression of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic kidney diseases. It is evident that obesity-related hypertension leads to various disorders and it is impossible to blame one single mechanism that causes this health conditions. Obesity is a metabolic dysfunction and also a possible renal factor that highly leads to high blood pressure in overweight and obese people.

One thing can be done to avoid both obesity and hypertension and that is to lose weight. By losing weight, you need to live a healthy lifestyle with proper and balanced diet, consistent and regular fitness program and many others. Consult your physician on how to lose weight fast and prevent any risk factors like high blood pressure and heart diseases.

Read some of my previous articles which shows you how to lose weight naturally as quickly as possible. Just browse the categories found at the right sidebar and choose the best article that grabs your interest. I guarantee that you will find informative and quality content with regards to weight loss tips. Now it’s time for you to share your opinions with regards to this issue. I welcome your comments below!