Nutrition and Physical Activity on Hypertension: Implication of Current Evidence and Guidelines

Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) is the leading cause of worldwide mortality and is responsible for approximately 40% of deaths from cardiovascular disease, chronicle kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is known that about 80% of all mortality from cardiovascular disorders could be prevented if a healthy diet and higher levels of physical activity were included among general population's lifestyle. Besides, guidelines for the treatment and control of HTN were recently modified for adequate nutritional and physical activity recommendations highlighted in meta-analysis and strong evidences such as randomized clinical trials. Therefore, to discuss nutrition and physical activity in the context of HTN seems to be crucial.

Comportamentos em saúde e o controle da hipertensão arterial: resultados do ELSI-BRASIL

“…In general, our results indicate that health behaviors can help improve hypertension control, as an adjuvant to medication. The adoption of such behaviors thus has positive repercussions on quality of life and mortality rates in hypertensive individuals, as already demonstrated in the literature 2,11,18 .…”

“…Next to moderate alcohol consumption, regular physical activity was the health behavior that most contributed to hypertension control, both in the total sample and in men and women. Various studies have evidenced the positive association between physical activity and blood pressure control 10,18,19,33 . The current study corroborates these results, quantifying the contribution of physical activity to hypertension control and highlighting the importance of maintaining physical activity at recommended levels among hypertensive individuals, as an important adjuvant to medication.…”

“…The current study corroborates these results, quantifying the contribution of physical activity to hypertension control and highlighting the importance of maintaining physical activity at recommended levels among hypertensive individuals, as an important adjuvant to medication. Despite its importance, regular physical activity is still not a common habit in the population, and especially among the elderly there has been an increase in physical inactivity 18,20 .…”

“…Although antihypertensive medication has precise indications, the adoption of a healthy lifestyle is strongly recommended for the control of this condition 9 , featuring regular physical activity, healthy eating, smoking cessation, and moderate alcohol consumption 11,18,19 . This indication is based on evidence that these behaviors can reduce blood pressure levels, improve the effect of antihypertensive drugs, and decrease the cardiovascular risk, and that this effect is enhanced when two or more of these practices are combined 20 .…”

Evidences on overweight of regular blood donors in a center of Southern Italy

“…Sedentary behavior and the excessive time in front of the television are harmful habits that influence adults and children. 29,30 Besides, 17 million annual deaths from cardio-and cerebrovascular worldwide 31,32 Physical activity, the relation with the environment, diet, and other aspects of daily life play a crucial role in physical and mental health. An effective indicator of overall health status and a useful tool to inform about the care needs is self-perceived health status.…”