More than 50% of Americans are either obese or overweight and the number is still rising. Doctors form the American Heart Institute, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization (WHO) are thinking how to control this epidemic. Obesity leads to high blood pressure. Being obese and having high blood pressure is linked. This condition is known as obesity hypertension. Read on to know more about the link between obesity and hypertension.
Out of all the cases of hypertension in the U.S., nearly 75% of them are directly related to obesity. In the year of 2002, around 310,707 deaths in the U.S. were directly due to hypertension or high blood pressure. If you are obese or overweight, your risk of acquiring hypertension increases 5-6 times greater than those who have normal body weight.
How Obesity Impacts Blood Pressure?
If you are obese or overweight, your body demands more blood flow to supply oxygen and nourish the extra tissue. When there is more blood in the arteries and veins, there is the development of extra pressure on these blood vessels.
Gaining weight is usually in the form of fat deposition. Mayo Clinic conducted a research, which found that fat cells produce excessive chemicals. This strains the heart and build a pressure on the blood vessels.
Also, along with the weight gain, there is an increase in the levels of insulin. This leads to retention of water and sodium in the body. This also increases the heart rate and reduces the blood flow capacity of the blood vessels. This shoots up the blood pressure.
Another factor which is responsible for having an impact on your blood pressure is the parts where you carry the extra weight in your body. If the extra weight is in the abdominal area, then the risk factors also increase. This is because an increase in the blood sugar level is seen. This leads to water and sodium retention in the body.
