Table of contents:
- Excess weight can trigger migraine headaches
- What causes obese people to experience migraine headaches?
- How to prevent migraine headaches if you are obese?
Do you get frequent migraine headaches? If so, maybe the migraine you are feeling could be caused by your weight. Although migraine headaches can be caused by various things, excessive weight can be a strong trigger for the appearance of migraines. Then why excess weight can cause migraines?
Excess weight can trigger migraine headaches
Migraines are usually characterized by pain on one side of the head. In severe cases, this pain is experienced quite often or even has a long period of time.
A study conducted by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) found that migraine headaches can actually be affected by a person's weight.
In the study, the experts recruited about more than 3,800 adults who are known to have an abnormal body mass index and tend to be obese. Then, it was also known that about 81% of the total study participants admitted that they often experience migraine headaches.
What causes obese people to experience migraine headaches?
From research reported in the journal Neurology, experts state that obesity can be one of the triggers for migraines in a person. This is actually related to changes in body function when a person is obese.
A person who is overweight, of course, will have quite a lot of fat pile. Fat is needed by the body, but if it is too much, as happens in obese people, it can cause inflammation in the body.
So, excess fat will trigger your own immune system to cause inflammation or inflammation in the body. As a result of this inflammation, various kinds of health problems arise, one of which is migraine.
Even in various studies, it is stated that inflammation caused by these fat cells can also cause chronic disease in the future, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus.
How to prevent migraine headaches if you are obese?
There are several things you can do to prevent migraine headaches from occurring, namely:
- Reduce excessive weight. This can be one way to prevent your migraine from coming back.
- Choosing healthy and nutritious foods. Food is one of the things that must be considered if you have a history of migraines. Some types of food that you should avoid, such as alcohol, processed and packaged foods and drinks, artificial sweeteners, and cheese.
- Record every migraine that appears. After you collect notes whenever you feel a headache, then it will be easier for you to find out what triggers the migraine.
- Eat and rest regularly. Living a regular and healthy lifestyle can keep you from migraine attacks.
- Avoid excessive stress. If you are feeling depressed, then you can do various things that make you more relaxed, such as yoga, meditation, or doing hobbies that you enjoy.
- Doing regular exercise. You still have to do regular exercise, because this is one of the keys to a healthy life. But be careful with strenuous types of exercise, because they can trigger your migraines.