Obesity increases the risk of migraines;
in particular, even the fat deposited on the abdomen increases the risk of suffering from this headache, almost doubling it.
It emerged from a study that appeared in The Journal of Headache and Pain and conducted at the Division of Clinical Neuroscience, of the Oslo Hospital University.
The study involved 33,176 adults, of whom 4290 (12.9%) suffered from migraine, 4447 (13.4%) from tension headache, 24,439 without headache (control group).
Obesity was associated with a 45% higher risk of migraine with and without aura, and as weight increased the risk increased.
Overweight was associated with a 15 to 25% higher risk of migraine.
In particular, abdominal fat was associated with a 29% greater risk of migraine, a risk that rises to 89% (almost double) in individuals under-50.
Tension headache was not associated with overweight and obesity.
The biological mechanisms that link obesity and abdominal fat to migraine remain to be clarified;
the inflammatory processes and chronic inflammation associated with extra pounds probably play a role;
Abdominal fat in particular releases pro-inflammatory substances that can affect the nervous system, the experts conclude.