Thursday, June 14, 2007

Obesity and Hypertension

Information was taken from an original article first published in Singapore Medical Journal 2007; 48 (3) : 232

Comparative evaluation of obesity measures: relationship with blood pressures and hypertension by Ghosh J R, Bandyopadhyay A R

It is well-known that obesity is associated with an increased risk of high blood presure, or hypertension. But there are so many measures of obesity : eg. the Body Mass Index, waist circumference, the Waist Hip Ratio, the Waist Stature ratio , Conicity Index.

This study was done on 180 adult Bengalee Hindu men to determine which measure of obesity best correlates with a greater risk of hypertension.

The conclusion was that an increasing BMI was associated with a greater risk of developing hypertension.

BMI = your weight in kg divided by the square of your height in metres.

  • Healthy weight 18.5 to below 23
  • Overweight 23 to below 27.5
  • Obese 27.5 and above
( for Asians)