Migraine linked to obesity in girls
Girls and young women who suffer from migraine headaches are more likely to gain extra weight or become obese during adulthood, a new study says.
Migraine has long been linked with obesity before, but the new study is the first to point out the association between childhood migraines and adulthood obesity, researchers wrote in Headache.
The review of 3,700 women revealed that around 40 percent of women diagnosed with childhood migraines gained at least 10 kilograms after the age 18, compared to 30 percent of those who had never experienced such episodes.
Around one in every six normal weight women suffer from migraine; as for the obese ones, however, the rate is as high as one in every four individuals, the study found.
"Relative to normal weight women, severely obese women have more than a doubling in odds of migraine," said the lead author Michelle A. Williams.
University of Washington scientists failed to determine the underlying mechanism because of which headaches trigger obesity among girls. They, however, suggested that nausea and vomiting often associated with these attacks may cause women change their eating and physical activity habits.
"I would endorse the advice offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that promotes a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity, and avoidance of adult weight gain," said Williams, adding that more research is needed in this field.
Source: presstv.ir
