Greenwich asthma study

Abstract

Ideal body weight is not realistic goal for lifestyle intervention Editor-Ramsay et al have produced a clear and authoritative document with their recent guidelines for the treatment of hypertension. 1 The section on lifestyle modification, however, includes the statement that weight loss to achieve an ideal body weight will lower blood pressure. Although this is undoubtedly true, it undermines most recent guidelines that recognise the practical near impossibility of achieving ideal body weight in most obese subjects 2-4 and evidence that suggests that more modest (and achievable) reductions in weight of 5-10% of body weight can be effective at lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the range of 4-7 and 3-6 mm Hg respectively. 5 It should be made explicit in the guidelines that this degree of weight loss is likely to be beneficial in reducing cardiovascular risk, rather than perpetuating the myth that "ideal" body weight is a realistic goal of lifestyle modification in overweight and obese subjects.