Blood pressure and weight

Blood pressure and body weight

Carrying excess weight, especially around your waist, can raise your risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. It can also lead to fatty build-up in your arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia.

• 1. Facts about obesity in the UK
• 27% of adults in West Yorkshire live with obesity.
• In 2022 to 2023, 64.0% of adults aged 18 years and over in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity. 

What causes obesity or weight gain?

There are many reasons why people gain weight, including:

• large portion sizes
• certain medical conditions and medications
• genetics
• stress and lack of sleep

Managing weight can be difficult. A good place to start is understanding how calories work. The energy in food or drink is measured in kilocalories (kcal), commonly known as calories. You bring calories into your body by eating and drinking, and you burn them off through activity. If you regularly take in more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra as fat. Over time, this can lead to weight gain. If you’re concerned about your weight, speak to a healthcare professional for advice and support.

How does obesity increase the risk of heart and circulatory diseases?

Carrying too much weight can lead to fatty material building up inside your arteries, which supply blood to your organs. This is called atherosclerosis and can increase the risk of:

• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• type 2 diabetes
• heart disease and stroke
• certain cancers
• joint problems and low mood

These are all risk factors for heart disease. If arteries supplying blood to your heart become blocked, it can cause a heart attack. If this happens in the brain, it can cause a stroke or vascular dementia.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Body fat and body shape

Your body stores fat in different ways. Many people worry about the fat they can feel under their skin – called subcutaneous fat. But a more serious health risk comes from visceral fat, which sits deeper in the body, around internal organs like your heart and liver.

Too much visceral fat can:

• raise cholesterol
• increase blood pressure
• raise your risk of type 2 diabetes

All of these increase your risk of heart and circulatory disease.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Other ways excess weight can affect you

Excess weight and obesity can also cause:

• poor sleep or snoring
• joint or back pain
• low mood or energy
• reduced mobility or breathlessness

How do I know if I have excess weight or obesity?

Two common ways to check are:

• body mass index (BMI)
• waist-to-height ratio

It’s useful to do both if you can.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​How to work out your BMI

BMI compares your weight to your height. It places you into one of these categories:

• underweight: BMI below 18.5
• healthy weight: BMI 18.5 to 24.9
• overweight: BMI 25 to 29.9
• obesity class 1: BMI 30 to 34.9
• obesity class 2: BMI 35 to 39.9
• obesity class 3: BMI 40 or more

You can use the NHS BMI calculator using this link or ask your healthcare professional to help you work it out.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Things to consider

BMI doesn’t take into account:

• muscle mass
• age, gender or body shape
• pregnancy
• bone density

Also, people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds may be at risk of health problems at lower BMI levels. In these groups, BMI categories are:

• overweight: BMI 23 to 27.4
• obesity class 1: BMI 27.5 to 32.4
• obesity class 2: BMI 32.5 to 37.4
• obesity class 3: BMI 37.5 or more

This is why it’s helpful to also measure your waist-to-height ratio.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​How to work out your waist-to-height ratio

This helps show whether you carry excess weight around your middle – a key risk factor for health conditions. Measuring your waist:

1. Place the tape measure around your middle (between your ribs and hips, just above your belly button)
2. This is not the same as your trouser or jeans size
   1. Measuring your height

It’s best to ask someone to help or get measured by a professional using a stadiometer. If measuring at home:

• remove shoes and heavy clothes
• stand with back, head and heels touching the wall
• keep your head level, looking straight ahead
• ask someone to mark the top of your head on the wall
• measure from the floor to the mark

Calculating the ratio

Make sure both your waist and height measurements are in the same units (for example, inches or cm). Then divide your waist measurement by your height:

Example:
Waist = 32 inches
Height = 65 inches
32 ÷ 65 = 0.49

Waist-to-height ratio guide

• 0.4 to 0.49 – healthy
• 0.5 to 0.59 – increased risk
• 0.6 or more – highest risk

What can I do to manage my weight?

Losing weight is hard, but small changes can make a big difference. Many people find that even small progress boosts mood, energy and sleep.

Additional information and support

There are many sources of support available online and through your GP. Here are a few that could help you to begin with:

• Heart UK: diet checklist – webpage link
• NHS: Better Health: healthier families – webpage link
• NHS: Better Health: lose weight – webpage link