BMI

Heartwire reports an interesting study that shows the relationship between body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood pressure. Using records of more than 35,000 patients, researchers found that BMI was more closely associated with blood pressure than fitness. Only for those people with the lowest and highest BMI measurements did fitness make a difference. Otherwise, weight, as measured by BMI, was closely associated with blood pressure. People with normal weight had average systolic blood pressure (the top number of the BP reading) that was 12 mm Hg lower than people who were in the obese BMI range - 115 mm Hg versus 127 mm Hg. This compares with only an 6 mm Hg difference between the most fit versus the least fit individuals - 119 mm Hg to 125 mm Hg.

One limitation of this study is that 69% of the sample is white men.