Impact of different levels of weight loss on blood pressure in overweight and obese women.

This study sought to determine the impact of different levels of weight loss on blood pressure in overweight/obese women. One hundred fifty-nine overweight/obese women (age 48.7 +/- 9.7, weight 101.3 +/- 18.7 kg, BMI 37.3 +/- 6.6 kg/m(2)) completed a six-month clinical weight loss program that included weekly nutrition, behavior, and exercise instruction. Participants consumed a very-low-energy diet (VLED) for 12 weeks. VLED was followed by four weeks of gradual reintroduction to solid foods. At week 16, participants received a diet to maintain weight or slightly reduce weight (<0.5 lb/week) which they followed for the duration of the study. All lab and blood pressure assessments were performed at baseline and six months. Three groups were formed according to the proportion of weight loss after six months; Group 1 had < 10% (n = 19), Group 2 had 10%-20% (n = 64), and Group 3 had >20% (n = 76) weight loss. Differences in systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) were found in dose response fashion for weight loss at six months with 125 +/- 17 (<10%), 119 +/- 13 (10%-20%), and 117 +/- 15 (>20%; p = 0.005). Differences in diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) were also found in dose response fashion with 81 +/- 9 (<10%), 77 +/- 9 (10%-20%), and 75 +/- 9 (20%; p = 0.003). These data indicate that increasing weight loss beyond 10% of initial body weight may provide added improvements in blood pressure compared to less than 10% weight loss in overweight or obese women.