14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers in the United States now say that, according to their investigations, there is a link between how much a person weighs and how likely they are to occasionally suffer migraines.
More precisely, the specialists argue that, when compared to a person of a normal weight, an obese individual is 81% more likely to experience episodic migraines.
What's more, it appears that this link between body weight and regular migraines is stronger in the case of people who are under the age of 50, Daily Mail tells us.
In order to investigate the link between these two conditions, the researchers asked a total of 3,862 people to fill in a questionnaire and provide information concerning their height, their weight and how often they experienced severe headaches.
Of these people, 1,044 qualified as obese, and 188 admitted to getting 14 of fewer severe headaches per month. The average age for the group was 47.
In light of their findings, the researchers recommend that people who are both obese and regularly experience migraines try to lose weight by dieting and exercising.
They say that this could help cut down on the number of headaches they get on a monthly basis.
“As obesity is a risk factor that can potentially be modified and since some medications can lead to weight gain or loss, this is important for people with migraines and their doctors,” Dr. Barbara Lee Peterlin, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore argues.
“These results suggest that doctors should promote healthy lifestyle choices for diet and exercise in people with episodic migraine. More research is needed to evaluate whether weight loss programs can be helpful in overweight and obese people with episodic migraine,” the specialist goes on to say.
Interestingly enough, previous studies have shown that being obese also makes a person about 50% more likely to suffer from chronic migraines, i.e. more than 15 severe headaches per month.