# Comparison of Fitness and Physical Activity Levels of Obese People with Hypertension
## 1 Introduction
[17] indicated that greater fitness levels predicted better glycaemic control even among adolescents. Additionally, the strength of these relations may grow with age. It has been reported that regular PA, depending on its type, lowers arterial blood pressure by 2-11 mm Hg [2]. According to [PERSON] et al. [18], it can lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 8 mm Hg and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure by 2.5 mm Hg. Indirectly, it also contributes to a reduction in body mass [19], thus limiting dyslippidemia and insulin resistance [20]. It should be noted that a reduction in body mass results in the lowering of SBP by 4.4 mm Hg and DBP by 3.6 mm Hg [21]. This was also confirmed by the Trials of Hypertension Prevention II carried out in people with high, but still within the normal range of, blood pressure and increased values of body mass index (BMI), where a decrease in SBP by 3.7 and DBP by 2.7 mm Hg was seen with a loss of 4.5 kg of body mass [20]. However, there are reports that only 18% of women and 50% of men in the 30-49 age group and 31% of women and 36% of men in the 50-70 age group increase their PA after being diagnosed with HT [22], which is an issue. [PERSON] et al. [23] noted that even the diagnosis of HT did not produce a positive lifestyle change. Similarly, [PERSON] et al. [24] indicated that unhealthy lifestyles were more often observed in those with disease, as their presence increases the risk of developing HT and diabetes (DM). This should not be surprising, since compliance with the medical recommendations concerning PA is assessed negatively by as much as 48.5% of patients with type 2 diabetes [25], despite the research evidence that shows that regular PA has a statistically and clinically significant effect on VO\({}_{2}\) max (maximal oxygen consumption) in type 2 diabetic individuals [26]. Additionally, a 20-year longitudinal study by [PERSON] et al. [27] showed that adult men and women who developed diabetes over 20 years experienced significantly larger declines in relative fitness versus those who did not. The study clearly indicated that poor fitness was significantly associated with diabetes incidence and was explained largely by the relationship between fitness and BMI. Obesity and HT, the most severe NCDs, generate serious health damage, including a drop in the patient's physical fitness (PF). Addition of any new disease has consequences not only for individual health, but also for public health (for instance because of the costs of care for disabled individuals). The core interests and main subject of this study were obese patients with HT and their levels of physical fitness as well as associations with levels of physical activity (both in the past and present). The research question was: how and to what extent does concomitant disease, in combination with obesity and HT, differentiate levels of physical fitness and physical activity in patients 40+? We wished to show the importance of PA and the relationship between PA and PF, and we conclude that more attention must be paid to the importance of both PA and PF in the prevention and therapy of NCDs. It is important especially in the light of the trend in non-pharmacological therapy of NCDs seen among both patients and physicians that they are more willing to accept diet changes [28; 29] than to initiate and increase their PA. The current study assessed the relationships between obesity and the presence of DM with the levels of PA determining the level of PF in obese patients aged 40+ with co-existing HT. Moreover, the study looked for differences in the relationships by sex, age, and co-existing diabetes. Selected biochemical indicators were considered.