Hypertension
Where I work, I have to put every one of my clients through a mandatory fitness evaluation before they can start on any kind of exercise regimen.
These include a simple blood pressure test. More young people (particularly men) in their 30s and early 40s are being diagnosed and put on high blood pressure medication than ever before. It has become a trend the world over.
Your entire body relies on an intricate network of blood vessels to channel blood and the essential nutrients it carries though to the furthest reaches of the body, and then remove the byproducts of metabolism and transport them to elimination organs such as the kidneys and lungs and others in a never ending cycle that preserves the very balance of life itself.
In order to keep this circulation going, your heart has to pump blood though the body with considerable force. It is this force that is recorded as blood pressure and is typically divided into two numbers - the systolic pressure (as the heart beats) and the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes).
The generally accepted values are 120/80. Values between 139/80-90 are called pre-hypertension, while blood pressure values in excess of 140/90 are termed hypertension.
Obesity is perhaps one of the leading causes of hypertension. In fact, men with a waist circumference in excess of 40 inches and women with a waist circumference of more than 35 inches stand a much greater chance of developing high blood pressure than individuals with lesser dimensions.
Scientists have established that perhaps the most dangerous kind of fat to your health is the kind of fat that rests around your waistline – visceral fat.
What’s wrong with abdominal fat?
Fat cells pump out chemicals known as cytokines, which can increase the risk of heart disease by promoting resistance to insulin.
Abdominal fat is deadly as it is located near the portal vein which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver.
Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood cholesterol.
Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol - a leading cause of high-blood pressure, and increased resistance to insulin heightening the risk of diabetes.
Together, insulin-resistance, high-blood pressure and high cholesterol present a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
What can we do about this fat?
So what can we do about those love handles? The starting point for bringing abdominal fat under control is to increase your levels of physical activity.
Notice that the emphasis is on physical activity and not necessarily exercise per se. You should aspire to engage in moderate to intense physical activity including walking for up to 30 minutes everyday.
Strength training may also help fight abdominal fat. This is because muscle is a metabolically active tissue that requires calories to maintain it.
In fact, as a risk factor, your body composition is much more pertinent to the state of your health than your actual weight on the scale.
Men with a body fat percentage in excess of 20 per cent and women with a body fat percentage in excess of 30 per cent percent are at a higher risk of developing both high-blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Diet also plays and important part in warding off hypertension. Pay attention to portion sizes and emphasize complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and lean protein over simple carbohydrates such as white bread, refined grain flour and sugary fizzy drinks.
Replacing saturated fats such as margarine and solid cooking fat with lighter alternatives such as sunflower or olive oil can also help.
Note however, that drastically cutting down calories is not a good idea because it can cause the body to go into starvation mode, slowing down your metabolism and paradoxically causing it to store more fat later on.
As a fitness professional, I would stress that the best way to avoid hypertension is though lifestyle adjustment which means making the commitment to eat better and move more, not just today but for the rest of your life.
