Abstract
The sympathetic nervous system responds to changes in caloric intake; caloric restriction decreases and carbohydrate administration increases sympathetic nervous system activity in animals and man. Insulin may be a major link between changes in dietary intake and changes in central sympathetic outflow. Caloric restriction reduces, and carbohydrate administration increases blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats, changes consistent with a primary effect of caloric intake on sympathetic nervous system activity. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system by overfeeding may contribute to the development and maintenance of hypertension in biologically-predisposed animals and man. The association of obesity and hypertension may reflect chronic overfeeding, although diet-induced changes in sympathetic nervous system activity may affect blood pressure in non-obese individuals as well.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 879-886 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Chronic Diseases |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1982 |
Funding
Supported by USPHS Grants AM 20378, AM 26455 and HL 24084. Published, by special editorial arrangement, as part of the Proceedings of a Symposium on Obesity and Hypertension held by the International Society on Hypertension in Jackson, Mississippi May 1980.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Epidemiology
