Obesity is a situation when a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 30 kg/m2. Therefore, obesity is the Body Mass Index that exceeds that of an overweight individual. Throughout human history, various medical conditions are associated with being obese. In this article, we look at obesity as a factor that can contribute to the risk of having a stroke.
What is Obesity?
Obesity is the accumulation of excessive or abnormal fat in an individual which poses a health risk. The occurrence of obesity is common in society. Its global figures have nearly tripled since 1975. In 2016, about 650 million adults were said to be obese to the World Health Organization. Sadly, the rate of childhood obesity has equally been rising, which is a source of concern in global health.
Obesity and Stroke
As we have always said, a stroke is a blood vessel accident in the brain. Often, it is caused by either a bleed or a clot in the brain blood vessels and this leads to inadequate delivery of blood to brain tissues and their resulting damage. This damage often manifests in a few ways in speaking, mobility, reasoning, and distortion in other functions of the brain as the signs that accompany stroke.
Obesity has been repeatedly established as a risk factor for stroke. More specifically, obesity is classified as a modifiable risk factor for ischemic stroke. An ischemic stroke is the type of stroke that occurs due to the occlusion of blood vessels by a blood clot in the brain.
To put the link between obesity and the risk of stroke in perspective, a study reports that a unit increase in BMI leads to about a 6% increase in the risk of stroke. Furthermore, obesity directly relates to the risk of having a stroke regardless of gender or race.
How Does Obesity Contribute to Having a Stroke?
The pathway of obesity that results in stroke is not direct. However, the ability of obesity to contribute to the mechanisms of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, increased rate of deposition of fat within the blood vessels and disturbance in sleeping leads to stroke. Thus, obesity slowly leads to progressive atherosclerosis (deposition of fat in blood vessels) or detachment of plaques in the blood vessels that leads to blockage of brain vessels or their rupture.
In obesity, the excess fat in the body leads to increased unhealthy functioning of fatty tissues as they begin to enlarge, increase in number, and become inflamed. Also, there is a reduction in the production of hormones that have beneficial effects on blood vessels, such as adiponectin. With time, there is an increase in insulin resistance in the body, an increase in the level of blood sugar, and fatty plaques in the blood vessels. When these conditions are in place, a clot or a bleed in the brain vessels can more easily occur, and that is a stroke.
Targeting Obesity to Prevent Strokes
If we can prevent obesity, we can reduce the occurrence of stroke. It is a fact that obesity is a modifiable risk factor for stroke. By being a modifiable risk factor, it means it can be altered or controlled to prevent the occurrence of its adverse consequences.
To beat obesity, two factors are commonly promoted. These are diet management and increasing the level of physical activity. When more benefits are required, an exercise regimen may be explored. The challenge with diet management is getting the right combination of food that supplies the body’s needs and will not leave excessive energy lying around the body that can be converted into more free fats. And for physical activities, getting safe and suitable exercises are necessary.
However, these two problems can be overcome when the right professionals are engaged. A dietician or nutritionist can help with diet management to effect safe and healthy prevention of the progression of obesity. Similarly, a physiotherapist can create individualized exercise programmes that can cause weight reduction and management when duly followed.
Conclusion
Obesity is an established risk factor for strokes. But the good news is that it is easily preventable. The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity in a week for every adult to reduce the risks of a sedentary lifestyle that may contribute to obesity. That is a good way to combat obesity and the risk of having a stroke.