It’s well established by now that being overweight can lead to a numerous possible health problems. Most people in fact are well aware that being overweight is a real risk simply because it’s stated so often through so many different means. Though it may be ultimately impossible to define the most dangerous health aspects of being overweight, high blood pressure would likely be placed near the top of any list.
A variety of studies have medically demonstrated strong ties between being overweight and having high blood pressure. As with anything else, there is variety in terms of how the effects are presented: specifically, the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have elevated blood pressure. In addition, an overweight person or a person who’s obese has a higher tendency for elevated blood pressure than people who have a normal body weight. Variation or not however, the findings are mostly certain and the bottom line is being overweight increases high blood pressure risk.
Breaking it down into actual percentages, men who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty-two percent of the time. Forty percent of obese women, give or take, have elevated blood pressure levels. While on their face these percentages may not seem outrageous, consider that men and women who aren’t obese have high blood pressure only fifteen percent of the time roughly. Carrying too much body weight can then potentially triple the risk of high blood pressure.
Though the reality that being overweight can lead to high blood pressure is the most important point to consider, how overweight leads to high blood pressure is information worth knowing. Basically what occurs is that people who are overweight often have excessive blood sugar levels, triggering the production of additional insulin by the pancreas in an effort to break the blood sugar down. The increased insulin production adversely affects several bodily functions: increased insulin can lead to blood vessels become thickened and rigid; excess levels of insulin can produce surges of adrenaline, which increases the physical functioning of the heart; and higher insulin levels can trigger the kidneys absorbing excess levels of water and salt.
The typical response to overweight is that it’s a problem of appearance: dropping excess weight typically means an increased sense of body satisfaction. While body appearance can be meaningful to people, the risk of overweight is far more than just an issue of how one’s reflection appears in a mirror. Overweight and obesity are legitimate threats to an individual’s health and life, both from the risk of increased blood pressure as well as from other medical conditions.
