To examine effects of body mass index on cardiovascular risk factors in hypertensive women. Study Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional study Subjects: 446 hypertensive subjects attending the endocrinology outpatient Measurements: Height, weight, resting blood pressure, pulse pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and HDL cholesterol concentrations, insulin resistance with HOMA, medical history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and smoking status. Results: Obese hypertensive patients had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and LDL-C concentrations. Total / HDL-C ratio and HOMA were significantly higher in obese patients compared with non-obese patients. No significant differences were observed with respect to total cholesterol and HDL-C levels. Insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and high total / HDL-C ratio were highly prevalent in the obese hypertensive patients. There were significant relationships between obesity and blood pressure, pulse pressure, insulin resistance. Conclusions: Hypertensive subjects with BMI>30 kg / m2 carry a burden of common coronary risk factors such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertension and wider pulse pressure.