1 in 3 Adults Has High Blood Pressure

(WebMD.com) - Obesity Weighs on 33% Increase in Americans

The number of adults in the U.S. with high blood pressure increased by nearly a third during the last 10 years, according to the latest government figures. Sixty-five million Americans now have hypertension or about 8% of the population, compared with 50 million a decade ago.

While much of the rise can be explained by the fact that the U.S. population is larger and older than it was 10 years ago, the increase in the number of overweight and obese Americans is also a major contributing factor, says American Heart Association spokesman David Goff, MD, PhD.

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