Doctors have found something new that may be linked to debilitating migraines. Too much fat around the waistline is linked to diabetes and heart disease.
Now researchers are adding migraines to the list.
Denise Brasher says her headaches hit in college, right when she started packing on the pounds. By the time she had a family, she had a weight problem and chronic, debilitating migraines, "I was watching the world go by and I was laying in bed sick as a dog."
Obesity has been linked to the 'frequency' of migraines. Now, new findings suggest it may actually be a root 'cause'. "In fact, both total body obesity and abdominal obesity were associated with a greater odds of having migraine," says Dr. B. Lee Pterlin.
Researchers say belly fat, in particular, may play a specific role because it secretes inflammatory proteins. "The actual fat cells function differently in the abdominal region as compared to say the leg region or the gluteal femoral region," says Dr. Peterlin.
In the study, 20 to 55-year-old women with big waistlines reported the most migraines. It's not clear if losing weight will help, but Dr. Peterlin says, there is hope, "One study that followed migraineurs over a month period, on a low-fat diet, did show a decrease in headache frequency."
Denise thought it was worth a try. She cut back on calories, dropped the weight, and the pain subsided, "I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to get to the point where I'm able to, you know, live an everyday lifestyle, free of migraines most of the time."
One interesting study note - headaches seem to decrease after the age of 55 among women with a big waistline. More research is needed to understand why, and to understand the role of the proteins that fat cells secrete.
