The relationship between obesity and hypertension, hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis

Obesity and hypertension

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The World Health Organization (WHO) defines hypertension as follows: A person is considered to have hypertension if their systolic blood pressure is higher than 160 mmHg and their diastolic blood pressure is higher than 95 mmHg.

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Many people think that slightly elevated blood pressure is not a big deal, but in fact, high blood pressure is a very serious disease. For example, stroke or myocardial infarction can be caused by high blood pressure.

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People generally associate high blood pressure with obesity. We often see cartoons depicting an overweight person with smoke coming from their head and a flushed face, with someone nearby saying their blood pressure is too high – these images are quite close to reality.

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Obese people are 3 to 5 times more likely to have high blood pressure than people of normal weight. Why is this? It's a matter of salt intake.

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Blood pressure, obesity, and salt intake are closely related. Obese people often overeat. Eating too much leads to the absorption of more sugar and salt. Excess sugar is converted into fat and stored, and insulin secretion increases, while the amount of sodium ions excreted from the body decreases. As a result, sodium remains in the blood, increasing blood volume and compressing blood vessel walls, thus increasing blood pressure and causing hypertension.

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Insulin can also stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which can cause vasoconstriction, thus insulin is a stimulant that raises blood pressure.

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At the same time, due to the accumulation of subcutaneous fat, obese individuals experience pressure on peripheral blood vessels, requiring increased blood pressure to be pumped back to the heart, thus causing elevated blood pressure. These combined factors contribute to hypertension in obese individuals.

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When high blood pressure persists for a long time, blood vessels become fatigued and lose elasticity, which is a cause of stroke, myocardial infarction, and other diseases.

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Obesity is ultimately a dietary issue, and related body fat and high blood pressure can be improved through dieting. In the initial stages of dieting, you may not see a decrease in weight, but it greatly helps in the prevention and management of high blood pressure.

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Obesity and Hyperlipidemia

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Obese people have a higher amount of fat in their blood.

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Obesity is a condition characterized by excessive fat accumulation. It doesn't just refer to excess subcutaneous fat, but rather a high proportion of fat in the blood. There are four types of lipids in the blood that are related to fat:

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① Neutral fats;

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> ② Cholesterol;

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③ Phospholipids;

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> ④ Free fatty acids.

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Neutral fats are the basic source of energy and are closely related to obesity. Obesity causes a state of high insulin levels, which in turn promotes the synthesis of neutral fats in the liver, accelerating the formation of higher levels of neutral fats in the blood. These neutral fats are absorbed into adipose tissue and gradually lead to obesity.

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In addition, while cholesterol is an essential component of the human body, high cholesterol levels are a major cause of arteriosclerosis. Generally speaking, obese people tend to have higher levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol.

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The four risk factors for arteriosclerosis are hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. Obesity is strongly associated with three of these four risk factors, and if an individual also smokes, their risk of developing arteriosclerosis is extremely high.

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Another issue is that while mild arteriosclerosis may not be a major problem for ordinary people, it can have an immediate impact on obese individuals.

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Because obese people require a larger amount of oxygen to maintain the activity of their body tissues, they often experience symptoms of angina. The heart works its entire life to deliver oxygen, and if there is an unreasonable demand for blood, symptoms such as high blood pressure, ruptured blood vessels, myocardial infarction, and stroke can occur.

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By the way, obesity is not only associated with elevated lipid levels in the blood, but also with elevated uric acid levels. High levels of uric acid in the blood can cause gout symptoms.

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Generally, glucose in the blood is eventually converted into water and carbon dioxide and excreted in the body. However, obese people have low insulin function, and the breakdown and metabolism of glucose can only convert it into uric acid, which is another metabolic syndrome of obesity.

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Obesity and Arteriosclerosis

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Arteriosclerosis has different effects on different organs.

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Arteriosclerosis is a metabolic syndrome. Medical statistics indicate that obese individuals are three times more likely to develop arteriosclerosis than those of normal weight. The onset and progression of arteriosclerosis present with different symptoms depending on the organs involved.

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Hypertension and hyperlipidemia can cause hardening of cerebral arteries, which can easily lead to stroke or cerebral embolism. If this happens, blood pressure management is essential.

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The coronary arteries supply and transport blood to the heart. Unlike cerebral arteries, they are more affected by hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia than by blood pressure. Coronary artery sclerosis can lead to angina or myocardial infarction.

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Occlusive peripheral arteriosclerosis in the lower limbs is influenced by hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, and is also closely related to smoking habits. This condition causes pain in the lower limbs during walking, intermittent claudication, and can also lead to poor nutrient circulation and ulceration.

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Since obesity is closely related to blood metabolism abnormalities such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, weight loss is a very basic treatment method for the treatment of arteriosclerosis in obese individuals.

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Furthermore, because these symptoms often occur together, the reduction in drug dosage and side effects during weight loss can be achieved through weight loss. Therefore, weight loss is an essential part of treating arteriosclerosis in obese individuals.