Research

Energy balance

Excess body weight and adiposity are significant contributors to the development of hypertension in normotensive adults, independent of measurement artifacts caused by large arm circumference.

If you are overweight, your risk of developing high blood pressure increases significantly. This is a physiological reality of carrying excess weight, not just a measurement error. Losing weight or preventing weight gain after age 25 is a proven strategy to lower blood pressure and prevent hypertension.

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The relationship of blood pressure and development of 'hypertension' to antecedent measures of 'adiposity' has been investigated... Relative body weight, weight change under observation, and skinfold thickness were distinctly related to existing blood pressure level and to the subsequent rate of development of 'hypertension.'
William B. Kannel et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 1967

Why this rating

Longitudinal prospective cohort study (Framingham) with >12 years of follow-up and large sample size (5,127 subjects).

Source

The Relation of Adiposity to Blood Pressure and Development of Hypertension

William B. Kannel et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 1967

DOI 10.7326/0003-4819-67-1-48

cohort · n=5127Cited 819×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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