HHS HealthBeat (March 13, 2008)

Larger women, higher risk

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

The bigger you are, the more risks you develop. A study found the more obese middle-aged women are, the more likely they’ll be to have a stroke.

Amytis Towfighi of the University of Southern California analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Women between the ages of 35 and 54 had a higher risk of stroke if they had extra fat over the stomach in particular.

Medications can help cure and control many ailments. But when it comes to risks, Towfighi warns:

“A lot of people think that, since they’re taking medications to control their diabetes or their cholesterol, that they’re lowering their risk for stroke.  However, if they’re not losing weight, they’re still at an increased risk for stroke.”  (11 seconds)

Towfighi’s study was presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: March, 13 2008