Are you an overeight or obese teen who suffers with migraine headaches? Ever wonder if your size might be contributing to this painful condition?
If you’ve been struggling to manage your food portions or choices of food in an effort to lose weight, you now have an added incentive.
And that is this: Excess body fat is clearly associated with migraine headaches.
And as if that weren’t enough, teens who smoke and don’t get much exercise also happen to be more likely to get migraine headaches.
So how much, then, are teens more likely to have migraine headaches when compared to peers who are of a normal weight, exercise and don’t smoke?
They are 3.4 times more likely to have frequent headaches.
Three Variables
1) Overweight, 2) Lack of exercise, and 3) Smoking.
The study showed that in teens with all three of these variables, 55 percent had frequent headaches.
Of teenagers without these negative factors, 25 percent had frequent headaches.
Teens who were only overweight were 40 percent more apt to get frequent headaches than teens without the negative factors.
Smoking teens were 50 percent more likely to experience frequent migraines..
Teens who exercised fewer than two days per week were 20 percent more likely to get frequent headaches than those who exercised a minimum of twice weekly and who were not overweight nor smokers.
These study results come from interviews of 5,847 teens age 13 through 18, part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway.
Nurses interviewed the teens about headaches, exercise and smoking, and took weight and height measurements.
Obesity and Headaches
“Obesity is a risk factor for migraine headaches because of the link with adiponectin,” says Dr. Tiff Jumaily, MD, a board certified pediatrician with Integrative Pediatrics and Medicine.
“Adiponectin is a hormone released from fat cells which modulates inflammatory mediators in migraines.
“Adiponectin is protective against dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.
“It releases IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, and inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines.
“Greater concentrations of fat cells will inhibit the release of adiponectin which can increase the risk for migraine.
“Paradoxically, a sudden increase in adiponectin levels can also trigger migraine.”
Basic Weight Loss Tips for Overweight Teens
Increasing your exercise is a lot easier than quitting an addiction to smoking or cutting back on your favorite foods, though exceptions do exist.
A smoker may find it easier to just quit smoking than to take up exercise.
Nevertheless, exercising more will inspire healthier eating habits and suppress the craving for a smoke. The result will be weight loss.
Don’t worry that quitting smoking will cause weight gain. If you exercise and eat less junk food and more healthy food, you should not gain fat.
Spend less time sitting before the TV and computer if you’re concerned that quitting smoking will put on weight or increase your appetite.
Remind yourself that giving up smoking can mean no longer suffering from so many migraines.
Teens should remind themselves that exercise might be just the very trick to end migraines…or at least cut down the frequency.
Tips on Exercise if You’re a Teen Who Needs to Lose a Lot of Weight
You should find an aerobic type of exercise that you can stick to. This can be walking, inline skating, using a stationary bike, going up and down a staircase, doing step drills on just the bottom step of a staircase, or following along to exercise videos.
Keep well-hydrated to prevent the so-called dehydration headache.
And add in extra activity every chance you can get. For instance, walk the dog more frequently, for longer distances and at a faster pace.
Ask your parents to buy you some exercise devices such as a heavy ball, a few pairs of dumbbells and/or a set of resistance bands. There’s a ton of very portable exercise equipment sold online.
Ask your parents to get you a gym membership. Then start picking up some weights, jogging around the track if there’s one, and taking some group fitness classes.
If you can’t join a gym, you can still do home exercises such as the ones depicted below.
Lunge. Do it in one spot as well as walking.
Squat. Go up and down up to 20 times.
Yoga. You can start off with beginner poses and hold them for up to a minute.
Additional exercises at home: marching in place, jogging in place, leg kicks and swings, jumping jacks, knee pushups.
Losing weight is not about feeling imperfect.
It’s about improving your health and fitness, as well as reducing your experiences with migraine headaches.
The full report is in the online Neurology (August 18, 2010).
Dr. Jumaily
