Abdominal Obesity Increases Risk of Brain Stroke in Women

Abdominal obesity increases the risk of having an ischemic stroke, with a greater impact on women, said a research published today by the European Journal of Neurology.

The researchers suggested measuring abdominal obesity rather than assessing overall body fat to predict the risk of stroke.

'The waist circumference reflects the fat rate better than the Body Mass Index (BMI), particularly in women', said Spanish neurologist Ana Rodriguez, one of the leaders of the research.

Rodriguez said that, on the other hand, in the case of men, a higher BMI is a factor that protects him from an ischemic stroke.

This data is in line with the so-called 'paradox of obesity', however, the abdominal fat, assessed independently of the rest of the body, is a risk factor for both genders.