Losing weight helps lower blood pressure, but how much it helps depends on how well your kidneys are working beforehand. People with different kidney function levels might see different amounts of blood pressure improvement from the same weight loss program.

If you're overweight or obese and on a high-protein diet to lose weight, your kidneys stay just as healthy — or may even get a little better — even if you already have mild kidney issues, high blood pressure, or type 2 diabetes.

Cutting back on salt helps lower blood pressure in overweight or obese adults with high blood pressure, and this benefit works the same way regardless of how well your kidneys are functioning. You don't need to worry about your kidney health levels to get the blood pressure benefits from eating less salt.

Getting fitter helps lower blood pressure in overweight adults with high blood pressure, but how much it helps depends on how well their kidneys are working. People with different kidney function levels see different amounts of blood pressure improvement from exercise.

If you're overweight and your kidneys are working too hard at the start, going on a high-protein diet to lose weight might make your kidney function look more normal—not worse—by bringing down their overactivity.

The DASH diet doesn't seem to lower blood pressure the same way for everyone, especially when you look at how well their kidneys are working. Some people see big drops in blood pressure, while others see little to no change, making it hard to predict who will benefit most.