%0 Journal Article
%T Management of Hypertension and Diabetes in Obesity: Non-Pharmacological Measures
%A Joseph M. Pappachan
%A Elias C. Chacko
%A Ganesan Arunagirinathan
%A Rajagopalan Sriraman
%J International Journal of Hypertension
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.4061/2011/398065
%X Obesity has become a global epidemic over the past few decades because of unhealthy dietary habits and reduced physical activity. Hypertension and diabetes are quite common among obese individuals and there is a linear relationship between the degree of obesity and these diseases. Lifestyle interventions like dietary modifications and regular exercise are still important and safe first-line measures for treatment. Recently, bariatric surgery has emerged as an important and very effective treatment option for obese individuals especially in those with comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes. Though there are few effective drugs for the management of obesity, their efficacy is only modest, and they should always be combined with lifestyle interventions for optimal benefit. In this paper we aim to outline the non-pharmacological measures for the management of hypertension and diabetes in obesity. 1. Introduction Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity together form 24% of the global risk for mortality [1]. Cardiovascular disorders related to these life-style diseases form the major cause of morbidity and mortality among the sufferers worldwide. Obesity has become a global epidemic in the past few decades. Among the adult US population, 33.8% are obese, and another 34.2% are overweight [2]. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases of which hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus are the most important. Obese individuals (those with body mass index (BMI) more than 30£¿kg/m2) were found to have higher risk for diabetes mellitus (age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 3.66) and hypertension (age-adjusted OR = 3.72) compared to those with normal body weight [3]. Overweight individuals also had higher risk for diabetes and hypertension (age-adjusted OR = 1.59 and 1.88, resp.) and those with morbid obesity (BMI > 40£¿kg/m2) had the highest risk (age-adjusted OR = 7.37 and 6.38, resp.) [3]. As there is a significant linear relationship between body weight and these two diseases, control of excess bodyweight is important for their prevention and treatment. Over the past few decades, a lot of effective drugs have been developed for the treatment of hypertension and diabetes. However, the pharmacotherapy of obesity is still not very promising without lifestyle modification and/or surgical intervention. Therefore, we aim to discuss the treatment options without drugs for management of hypertension and diabetes in obesity through this paper. 2. Life-Style Interventions for Treatment of Hypertension and Diabetes in Obesity 2.1. Exercise for the Obese Hypertensive The
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijhy/2011/398065/