Which single behaviour best prevent high BP

By Serena Gordon

You probably already know that certain healthy lifestyle behaviors can reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, but is any one behavior more important than the others?
Maybe, as new research suggests maintaining a healthy weight is the No. 1 behavior to prevent unhealthy blood pressure levels.

"Our results indicate by maintaining a healthy body weight into middle age, you can help preserve low blood pressure," said the study's lead author, John Booth III. He's a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"There have been increases in blood pressure at younger ages, which are linked to heart disease and stroke," Booth said. "We evaluated the long-term impact of maintaining healthy behaviors on [high blood pressure]."

Booth and his colleagues looked at the effects of five healthy behaviors:

Never smoking

Drinking 7 or fewer alcoholic drinks weekly for women or 14 or fewer drinks a week for men

Eating a healthy diet (following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH diet)

Getting 150 minutes or more a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity

Maintaining a healthy weight.

The study included almost 4,700 volunteers. They were between 18 and 30 years old when the study started in 1985 and 1986.

Over 25 years of follow-up, the researchers measured blood pressure and health behaviors eight times.

People who maintained a healthy body weight were 41 percent less likely to see their blood pressure rise as they approached middle age.

Study volunteers who maintained at least four of the healthy behaviors had a 27 percent decreased risk of high blood pressure by middle age.

Staying physically active and eating a healthy diet weren't specifically linked to a better blood pressure.

On the other hand, never smoking and drinking little to no alcohol seemed to keep blood pressure lower in middle age. But the researchers said a larger study is needed to confirm these because they may have been a chance finding.

Since maintaining a healthy body weight appears to be a more important behavior than the others, does that mean you don't need to be concerned about a healthy diet or getting enough exercise?

Not at all, Booth said.

He said other health behaviors are linked to maintaining a healthy weight, with exercise and a healthy diet chief among them.

"Multiple factors are contributing to the risk for developing high blood pressure across the life span, and these factors all interact together," Booth noted.