Obese middle-aged women more likely to have stroke
The incidence of stroke has been rising in the US mainly due to an increase in the incidence of stroke in middle aged women. The main culprit is abdominal obesity according to recent research. The incidence of stroke between the ages of 35 and 54 years is twice as high in women as it is in men.
For some reason, abdominal obesity has a much greater impact on stroke in women than it does on men. This means that women need to be especially careful about their weight, especially in middle age and especially those that have risk factors which increase their risk of developing strokes.