Obesity, "Spare Tire" Up Stroke Risk in Older Men
(NY, Reuters Health, 9/6/02)

Dr. Debashish K. Dey of Goteborg University in Sweden and colleagues measured abdominal fat (waist size) and obesity (body mass index, relating weight to height) for 2287 adults over 70 years old. They tracked the participants for 15 years, during which about 20% had strokes. The researchers found that obese men with more abdominal fat had a 65% greater probability of having a stroke than their thinner counterparts; however, they did not find a stroke-obesity connection for women.