Obese adults at higher risk of getting occasional migraines

Obese people are 81 percent more likely to have occasional migraines as compared to people of normal weight, according to a new study.

Study author B. Lee Peterlin, DO, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD said that as obesity is a risk factor that can potentially be modified and since some medications for migraine can lead to weight gain or loss, this is important information for people with migraine and their doctors.

For the study, 3,862 people with an average age of 47 filled out surveys with information on height, weight and migraines. A total of 1,044 participants were obese and 188 of the participants had occasional, or episodic, migraine.

"These results suggest that doctors should promote healthy lifestyle choices for diet and exercise in people with episodic migraine," Peterlin said.

Peterlin said the results also indicate that the link between episodic migraine and obesity is stronger in those under the age of 50, the years when migraine is most prevalent, as compared to people older than 50.

The study is published in the journal of Neurology.