Comparison of Single Versus Multiple Lifestyle Interventions: Are the Antihypertensive Effects of Exercise Training and Diet-Induced Weight Loss Additive?
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Participants
Fifty-five men (n = 17) and women (n = 38) between the ages of 21 and 65 years, with high normal BP or stage 1 or 2 hypertension (i.e., systolic BP 130 to 179 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP 85 to 109 mm Hg) volunteered for the study after responding to television and radio requests for study participants. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. All patients were asymptomatic, had no clinically apparent cardiovascular disease besides elevated BP, had not participated in regular
Results
Of the 55 patients entered into the study, 7 were withdrawn before its completion. Of these patients, 1 (from the exercise training plus dietary modification intervention) relocated to another city, 2 (1 from the dietary modification-only intervention and 1 from the exercise training plus dietary modification intervention) were withdrawn owing to their failure to attend mandatory meetings with the study's counselor, and 4 (1 from the dietary modification-only intervention and 3 from the
Discussion
Existing longitudinal training studies indicate that regular aerobic exercise elicits an average reduction in systolic and diastolic BP of about 10 mm Hg in persons with elevated BP.3, 4, 5 Similarly, diet-induced weight loss has been shown to evoke an equivalent, if not greater, antihypertensive effect in overweight persons with elevated BP.1, 2, 6, 9 The present study demonstrates in overweight patients with high normal BP or stage 1 or 2 hypertension that the BP-lowering effects of exercise
Acknowledgements
We thank Susan Richards, MS, and Shirley Salmon for their assistance with the lifestyle interventions, Laura Becker for manuscript preparation, and the Prestonwood shopping mall for allowing us to use their facility for the lifestyle interventions.
This study was supported in part by research grants from the Bob Smith, MD, Foundation and Merck Human Health Division.
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