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(Hypertension. 2000;36:26.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Resting Metabolic Rate and Substrate Use in Obesity Hypertension

Iris Kunz; Ulrike Schorr; Susanne Klaus; Arya M. Sharma

From the German Institute of Human Nutrition (I.K., S.K.), Division of Biochemistry and Physiology of Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany; and Department of Internal Medicine (I.K., U.S., A.M.S.), Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Universitätsklinikum Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.

Correspondence to Prof Arya M. Sharma, Abteilung für Nephrologie u. Hypertensiologie, Franz-Volhard-Klinik-Charité, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 13122 Berlin-Buch, Germany. E-mail sharma{at}fvk-berlin.de

Abstract—There is substantial evidence that obesity is a prime risk factor for the development of hypertension. Although hyperinsulinemia and an increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system have been implicated in the pathogenesis of "obesity hypertension," their effects on energy metabolism have not been studied thus far. In the present study, we therefore examined resting metabolic rate (RMR) and basal substrate oxidation in subjects with obesity and obesity-related hypertension. A total of 166 subjects were characterized for RMR and basal substrate use through indirect calorimetry. Blood pressure was measured at rest and with 24-hour ambulatory monitoring. Blood samples were collected for the measurement of plasma catecholamines, leptin, and the insulin response to an oral glucose load. In our study population, 116 subjects were defined as hypertensive and 91 were defined as obese. Hypertensive patients under ß-adrenergic blockade (n=42) had a significantly lower RMR than did patients without ß-blockade (P<0.05) and were therefore excluded from further analyses. Univariate regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between RMR and body fat mass, as well as body fat–free mass, in both groups. Compared with obese normotensive control subjects (n=27), obese hypertensives (n=43) had a 9% higher RMR (P<0.05), higher plasma catecholamine (P<0.05) and leptin (P<0.05) levels, and an increased insulin response to oral glucose (P<0.01). Together, these findings are compatible with the idea that chronic neurogenic and metabolic adaptations related to obesity may play a role in the development of obesity hypertension in susceptible individuals.

Key Words: energy expenditure • blood pressure • nervous system, sympathetic • glucose • obesity • leptin

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