Effects of Weight Changes on Blood Pressure and Blood Test Levels: An Analysis by Obesity Status and Age

Abstract

Objective: The impact of weight changes on blood pressure and blood test results was assessed over a two-year period, considering obesity status and age.

Methods: The study included 16,819 individuals, aged 20 to 69 years, who underwent health check-ups for three consecutive years starting in 2018. Participants were categorized into eight groups: obese (BMI ≥ 25 or waist circumference ≥ 85 cm for men and ≥ 90 cm for women) aged 20-39 years, obese 40-69 years, non-obese 20-39 years, and non-obese 40-69 years, for both men and women. Weight changes after two years were classified into seven categories: ≥ 5% decrease, 3% to <5% decrease, 1% to <3% decrease, no change (<1% decrease to <1% increase), 1 to <3% increase, 3 to <5% increase, and ≥ 5% increase. Trends in blood pressure and blood test results were evaluated.

Results: In the 40-69-year-old obese men group, significant improvements were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL-C, HDL-C, HbA1c, AST, ALT, and γ-GTP, with a weight decrease of ≥ 5% over two years, compared to the reference group with no weight change. In the 20-39-year-old obese men group, a weight decrease of ≥ 5% improved all these indicators except systolic blood pressure. Conversely, all indicators worsened with a weight increase of ≥ 5% among obese men. In the 40-69-year-old non-obese men group, improvements were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL-C, HDL-C, and ALT with a weight decrease of ≥ 5%, while all indicators except HbA1c deteriorated with a weight increase of ≥ 5%. Among the 20-39-year-old non-obese men group, weight changes of ≥ 5% were found to have an influence on blood pressure, lipid levels, and liver function. Interestingly no consistent trends were observed in women.

Conclusions: In obese men, weight changes of ≥ 5% over a two-year period were found to have an impact on blood pressure, lipid levels, glucose tolerance, and liver function across both age groups. Among the non-obese men, all parameters changed with weight changes, except glucose tolerance.