Fatter legs linked to reduced risk of high blood pressure

Date:
September 10, 2020
Source:
American Heart Association
Summary:
Adults with a higher percentage of fat tissue in their legs were
less likely than those with a lower percentage to have high blood
pressure.

Research findings held true even after adjusting for age, sex,
race and ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol use, cholesterol
levels and waist fat, although to a lesser degree.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Adults with fatter legs -- meaning they have a higher percentage of total
body fat tissue in their legs -- were less likely than those with a lower percentage to have high blood pressure, according to new research to be presented Sept.

10-13, 2020, at the virtual American Heart Association's Hypertension
2020 Scientific Sessions. The meeting is a premier global exchange
for clinical and basic researchers focusing on recent advances in
hypertension research.


========================================================================== "Ultimately, what we noted in this study is a continued discussion of
'it's not just how much fat you have, but where the fat is located,'"
said principal investigator Aayush Visaria, M.P.H., a fourth-year
medical student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New
Jersey. "Although we know confidently that fat around your waist is
detrimental to health, the same cannot be said for leg fat. If you have
fat around your legs, it is more than likely not a bad thing and may
even be protecting you from hypertension, according to our findings."
The investigators examined the rate of three types of high blood pressure
in relation to the percentage of fat tissue in the legs of nearly 6,000
adults enrolled in the 2011-2016 National Health & Nutrition Examination Surveys.

Average age of the participants was 37, nearly half were female and 24%
had high blood pressure, defined as blood pressure >130/80 mm Hg.

Special X-ray scans measured fat tissue in the legs, and these measures
were compared to overall body fat tissue. Investigators classified
participants as having either a high or low percentage of leg fat, with
high fat defined as 34% or more for males, and 39% or more for females.

Participants with higher percentages of leg fat were less likely
than those with lower levels of fat to have all types of high blood
pressure. The analysis found: Compared to those with lower percentages
of leg fat, participants with higher percentages of leg fat were 61%
less likely to have the type of high blood pressure where both numbers
are elevated.

In addition, risk for participants with higher leg fat was 53% lower for diastolic high blood pressure (the second number in a blood pressure
reading, measuring pressure between heart beats) and 39% lower for
systolic high blood pressure (the first number in a reading, measuring
pressure when the heart beats).

After adjusting for various factors, such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol use, cholesterol levels and waist fat, the
risk for high blood pressure was still lower among participants with
higher percentages of leg fat, although not as low as before adjusting
for these factors.

"If these results are confirmed by larger, more robust studies, and
in studies using easily accessible measurement methods like thigh circumference, there is the potential to affect patient care," Visaria
said. "Just as waist circumference is used to estimate abdominal fat,
thigh circumference may be a useful tool, although it's a bit cumbersome
and not as widely studied in the U.S. population." Several limitations
could have affected the study's results. First, the study could
not determine cause and effect, since information on blood pressure
and percentage of fat tissue in the legs were measured at the same
time. Second, a larger group of participants is needed to yield more information about the effects on high blood pressure of varying degrees
of fat tissue in the legs.

Finally, all study participants were under the age of 60, so the results
may not apply to older adults, who are generally at greater risk for
high blood pressure.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Heart_Association. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200910150338.htm

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