Which
Single Behavior Best Prevents High Blood Pressure?
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By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
HealthDay Reporter
Latest High Blood Pressure News
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THURSDAY, Sept. 14,
2017 (HealthDay News) -- You probably already know that certain healthy
lifestyle behaviors can reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure,
but is any one behavior more important than the others?
Maybe, as new research
suggests maintaining a healthy weight is the No. 1 behavior to prevent
unhealthy blood pressure levels.
"Our results
indicate by maintaining a healthy body weight into middle age, you can help
preserve low blood pressure,"
said the study's lead author, John Booth III. He's a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"There have been
increases in blood pressure at younger ages, which are linked to heart disease and stroke," Booth
said. "We evaluated the long-term impact of maintaining healthy behaviors
on [high blood pressure]."
Booth and his
colleagues looked at the effects of five healthy behaviors:
- Never smoking
- Drinking 7 or fewer alcoholic drinks weekly for women
or 14 or fewer drinks a week for men
- Eating a healthy diet (following the Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension, or DASH diet)
- Getting 150 minutes or more a week of moderate to
vigorous physical activity
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
The study included
almost 4,700 volunteers. They were between 18 and 30 years old when the study
started in 1985 and 1986.
Over 25 years of
follow-up, the researchers measured blood pressure and health behaviors eight
times.
People who maintained
a healthy body weight were 41 percent less likely to see their blood pressure
rise as they approached middle age.
Study volunteers who
maintained at least four of the healthy behaviors had a 27 percent decreased
risk of high blood pressure by middle age.
Staying physically
active and eating a healthy diet weren't specifically linked to a better blood
pressure.
On the other hand,
never smoking and drinking little to no alcohol
seemed to keep blood pressure lower in middle age. But the researchers said a
larger study is needed to confirm these because they may have been a chance
finding.
Since maintaining a
healthy body weight appears to be a more important behavior than the others,
does that mean you don't need to be concerned about a healthy diet or getting
enough exercise?
Not at all, Booth
said.
He said other health
behaviors are linked to maintaining a healthy weight, with exercise and a healthy diet chief among them.
"Multiple factors
are contributing to the risk for developing high blood pressure across the life
span, and these factors all interact together," Booth noted.
Still, the study
showed a clear benefit to staying trim from a young age through middle age.
Just what is it about
weight that may boost blood pressure?
Dr. Howard Selinger is
chair of family medicine at the Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine at
Quinnipiac University in North Haven, Conn. He said weight may contribute to
high blood pressure in a number of ways.
"When you gain
weight, your heart has to work harder because the weight has a compressive
effect on the blood vessels. Over decades, that can produce cardiac problems.
The vascular bed -- the blood vessels -- stiffens as we get older,"
Selinger said.
But for people who
don't gain weight, there's less stiffening. "That, in turn, keeps blood
pressure lower and prevents more serious outcomes. If you lower your weight,
you lower the pressure," Selinger explained.
He said weight is
clearly an important factor in keeping blood pressure at a healthy level. But
he considers the other factors important too, especially never smoking.
Findings from the
study were scheduled for presentation Thursday at an American Heart Association
meeting, in San Francisco. Studies presented at meetings are generally viewed
as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Copyright © 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
SOURCES: John N. Booth III, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, American
Heart Association's Strategically Focused Hypertension Research Network,
University of Alabama at Birmingham; Howard Selinger, M.D., chair, family
medicine, Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, North
Haven, Conn.; Sept. 14, 2017, presentation, American Heart Association meeting,
San Francisco
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