Belly fat has been associated with raising risks for heart disease and diabetes. Now the new research suggests that it can also be linked to an increased risk of migraine, at least up to average middle age.
Waist circumference was considered a better predictor of migraine activity than general obesity in men and women until the age of 55.
Previous investigation linked obesity to an increase in frequency of migraines in people who already have them. But the new study is one of the few to suggest that obesity raises the overall risk of migraines.
and is the first to examine whether the belly fat can play a specific role in migraines and severe frequent headaches. / p>
The conclusions will be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in Seattle.
Home Remedies For Belly Fat Loss - Belly Fat Linked to Risk of Migraines
Researchers from Drexel University University College of Medicine has examined data collected from more than 22,000 participants in national health and nutrition in progress (Nhanes). / p>.
The research included abdominal obesity measurements, measured by waist circumference, and general obesity, as determined by the body mass index (BMI). Data also include self-reported migraine estimates and severe frequency of headache.
Women are three times more likely than men suffer from migraines. Researcher B. Lee Peterlin does, says WebMD that discoveries can help researchers understand this gender difference.
"This can be a piece of the puzzle," she says. "This does not suggest that if you lose your extra abdominal fat, it will cure your migraines. But it can be a clue to help explain sexual dimorphism in migraine."
Even after controlling overall obesity, excess belly fat was associated with a significant increase in migraine activity in men and women between 20 and 55 years.
"This is the age when migraine is more prevalent," she says. "Our findings suggest that both general obesity and abdominal obesity are associated with a greater prevalence of migraine in this age group."
Women with extra-belly fat were 30% more prone to experience migraines than women without excess of a belly. Fat, even after counting general obesity, risk factors for heart disease and demographic characteristics. The connection between belly fat and migraines in men in this age group was not significant when counting these factors.
The findings suggest that belly fat is an important risk factor for migraine, but it can be more important in women than in men, says Peterlin .
After 55 years, carry extra weight around the medium seemed to be associated with a slight decrease in the risk of migraine in women, but the reasons for this are not clear.
"That was a surprise," says Peterlin. "It seems that there is an impact on all ages, but changes. In women under 55, belly fat is bad. But more than 55 years, with belly fat can actually be slightly protective against migraine."
Migraine The researcher Stephen Silberstein, MD, tells WebMD that the new research raises more questions than answers.
SilbStein is a spokesman for the American Academy of Neurology and professor of Neurology of Philadelphia.
"Large population-based studies indicate that obesity correlates with frequency, but not the presence of migraines," he says. "This is the first time someone looked at the abdominal waist and they discovered that he predicts the presence of migraines. This is an interesting observation, but these discoveries definitely need to be duplicated."
