Many people think you need to be obese or really out of shape for it to cause high blood pressure. But the fact is that even being 5% overweight can contribute to hypertension. It’s not always the weight, per se, but the type of fat. Eating a poor diet and lack of exercise can produce a lot of fatty tissue. This fatty tissue can accumulate in the muscles and around the heart and may not even be visible to casual observation. So even though you may not look overweight your heart may be working under incredibly high pressure. In cases such as these you can significantly lower blood pressure with a weight loss of only 10 or 20 pounds.