Exercise and Weight Loss Reduce Blood Pressure in Men and Women with Mild Hypertension

Effects of a weight reduction program with and without aerobic exercise in the metabolic syndrome

“…While the intentional weight loss significantly improved metabolic parameters of the study subjects, regular aerobic exercise training did not add further benefits. These findings are consistent with data showing no enduring effect of exercise training on metabolism, despite beneficial effects on glucose control associated with acute exercise [12,32,33]. Possibly, the amount of aerobic exercise training as currently recommended by international societies and applied in our study is not sufficient to offer significant benefits on metabolic parameters by exercise-mediated mechanisms alone compared to the impressive effects of moderate weight loss.…”

“…Because we were unable to control for this bias in the statistical analysis and most study patients were female, the apparent beneficial effects by diet with or without aerobic exercise in our patient groups cannot be generalized to the overall population of patients with the metabolic syndrome. However, our data are comparable to results of prospective studies conducted in large medical health care centers [12,25,33]. This indicates that beneficial effects of lifestyle modifications on blood pressure control and metabolic abnormalities in sedentary, overweight patients with the metabolic syndrome are achievable even in the setting of a general practitioner in a rural area.…”

“…Indeed, diet-induced weight loss has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure [12,14,[23][24][25]. Our data obtained in a rural primary care practice comparably indicate that adherence of patients to a weight management program induces a significant abdominal weight loss within 6 months and a parallel decrease of blood pressure levels.…”

Non Pharmacologic Therapy and Lifestyle Factors in Hypertension

“…Although the debate as to the optimal level of intensity of exercise favours low to moderate exercise, there is inconsistent evidence to support that higher intensity exercise would be less effective [80]. Regular exercise appears to enhance the blood pressure lowering effect of weight control [83,8,84].…”

On pot, potomania, and (couch) potatoes: The link between habits and mood

“…Some also took part in weekly group sessions aimed at promoting weight loss behaviors. Many previous studies [5], including an earlier report by this group [6], have reported that behavioral and lifestyle interventions, including exercise and weight loss programs, are effective in lowering blood pressure among patients with hypertension.…”