Losing even a small amount of weight if you're overweight or obese can help lower your blood pressure. In general, you can lower your blood pressure by about 1 millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) for every kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of weight you lose. The good news is that losing weight, even in small amounts, can have a direct impact on lowering blood pressure. In fact, researchers estimate that for every pound you lose, you can lower your blood pressure by one point.
Maintaining a healthy weight provides many health benefits. If you're overweight, losing just 5 to 10 pounds can help lower your blood pressure. By far the most effective means to lower high blood pressure is to lose weight, Fisher says. And it doesn't take big weight loss to make a difference.
Even losing as little as 10 pounds can lower blood pressure. Losing excess weight helps lower blood pressure. Expect a drop of about 1 point in systolic pressure for every 2 pounds you lose. Most types contain 150 to 250 mg of sodium per ounce.
Try Swiss cheese (only 40 to 60 mg) or fresh mozzarella (80 to 100 mg) or just 1 thin or thin slice of your favorite variety. Most soups provide 600 to 900 mg of sodium per cup. McDougall's, Amy's Organic or Trader Joe's Light in sodium or low-sodium soups (200 to 400 mg). If you're overweight, losing weight will lower your blood pressure because your heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood throughout your body.
It reduces the risk of many other health problems, such as strokes, diabetes and heart disease, and it can also make you feel better, giving you more energy to do the things you want. Results Although participants in both active treatment groups showed significant reductions in BP compared to controls, participants in the weight control group generally had greater reductions. Figure 7 shows that changes in glucose and insulin levels were greater for those in the weight control group than for the exercise-only and control groups. A wide literature supports the idea that decreasing sodium consumption below typical in Western society will cause a decrease in blood pressure.
The Trial of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP), one of the largest of these studies, included a weight-loss intervention group. For overweight or obese patients whose weight implies a high risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. Conclusions Although exercise was only effective in reducing BP, the addition of a behavioral weight-loss program improved this effect. To learn more about the benefits of losing weight or to get started with a personalized weight loss plan, book an appointment online or by phone with Prima Medicine today.
The reduction in clinical BP at rest was approximately 4 mm Hg for SBP and PAD in participants in the exercise-only group, compared with 7 mm Hg for SBP and 5 mm Hg for PAD in participants in the weight control group. Rocchini33 identifies numerous potential biological mechanisms by which weight loss or fat loss can lead to parallel decreases in blood pressure. These 2 blood pressure classifications are considered appropriate primary targets for lifestyle modification interventions, including weight loss. A preliminary study, Dahl et al38, found that sodium restriction in low-calorie diets was the main cause of lowering blood pressure.
