The relation between obesity and hypertension

Abstract

Aim: Hypertension is an emerging health problem related to cardiovascular disease, and many reports have shown the link between hypertension and obesity in different populations. In that study, we would like to evaluate the body fat accumulation type and obesity-related parameters with hypertension. Material and Methods: Hypertensive and normotensive individuals were enrolled in Bandırma Training and Research Hospital, Cardiology Units. The cardiologist examined the demographic data, obesity-related parameters, and current health status. Blood pressures were measured under the European Heart Society Recommendations. The data was accepted statistically within the 95% confidence interval (p<0.05). Results: The mean age of hypertensive and normotensive individuals was 60.25±12.45 vs. 57.78±11.17, p=0.05), respectively. A statistically significant increase was observed in BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) status in hypertensive patients compared to controls. In contrast, hip circumference (HC) measurement is only higher only in hypertensive women than in normotensive (110.61±18.23 vs. 100.69±20.46; p:0.005), and there is no difference among men (108.56±16.16 vs107.93±16.78 p:0.82). Conclusion: Abdominal weight gain is an important issue for cardiovascular disease; thus, waist circumference (WC) is essential to evaluate the hypertension risk more than obesity status. Hypertensive women are more prone to have apple-type body shapes than hypertensive men were pear body shapes. In conclusion, body fat accumulation is a more crucial triggering factor for hypertension than body fat. Keywords: Hypertension, body fat, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, Waist to height ratio