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Elevated blood pressure is a health problem that over 50 million people in the United States have and it can lead to a variety of more serious health concerns. Because of this, hypertension needs to be taken seriously and steps should be taken to attempt to lower blood pressure measurements.

According to many studies, excess weight is closely connected to high blood pressure. It has been shown that weight reduction can be very helpful in lowering blood pressure and also for increasing the effectiveness of antihypertensive prescription medications.

In fact, the good news is that studies have shown that a weight loss of as little as 10 pounds can have a positive effect. It can lower the blood pressure of overweight people who have hypertension and can help to make their medications more effective.

Taking control of your weight is one of the most fundamental steps that you can take to lower blood pressure. And, it also has the added benefit of helping you feel better overall, giving you more energy, increasing your stamina for exercise and reducing the risk of heart attack.

For people who have moderately high blood pressure, losing a few pounds might be all that is required to bring their hypertension under control. By losing some excess weight, even those with a more severely elevated blood pressure might be able to reduce the amount of medication they need to control their hypertension, which also reduces the negative side effects that come with virtually all prescriptions.

Interestingly, not only does it matter that you are carrying extra weight, but where you carry that weight also has some bearing on the risk factors you face. If you store your extra pounds around your belly, you are considered to have an apple shape, while those who store extra pounds on the hips and thighs have a pear shape. Where you tend to store excess weight is, for the most part, something you inherit from your parents, much like your hair or eye color. However, in general terms, men tend to be apple shaped while women are more often pear shaped. Studies have shown that those who have the apple shape tend to have a higher risk of heart disease. But regardless of the shape, extra pounds should be shed to help reduce the risk of hypertension and other medical complications that arise, especially with age.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be complicated or hard. At the most basic level, it is as simple as being sure that you eat less calories on a consistent daily basis, than what you burn. And, it shouldn’t be about how fast you can lose weight, but about losing it for good. You can actually do more harm to your body by repetitively losing and gaining weight than by simply losing a small amount steadily over time.

It has been suggested that the best approach is to set a goal to lose somewhere between one half to one pound of weight each week. This can be accomplished by cutting out only 500 calories per day, which will add up to the equivalent of one pound, or 3,500 calories. With some light exercise you can even accelerate the rate of loss. Exercise is another action which helps to lower blood pressure.

Published by Health Editor