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According to the National Stroke Association, stroke is the number one killer of Americans.  These “brain attacks” occur when blood flow to the brain is interrupted (an ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts (a hemorrhagic stroke).  800,000 people annually are affected by stroke, and for an alarming 144,000 people, the result is death.

There are both controllable and uncontrollable factors that can lead to stroke, such as genetics, age and race.  However, research has recently discovered more of these risk factors, from your diet to where you live.

Being a Southerner

Also called the ‘Stroke Belt’, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama show larger number of stroke incidences.  A study published in the journal Neurology in 2009 reported that among blacks, being born in the Stroke Belt increased the risk of stroke by 22 percent. For whites, the number was 30 percent. Part of the reason may be due to risk factors like poor diet, smoking and obesity, which may start earlier in southern states.

Diet High in Fat

Researchers from the University of North Carolina found that post menopausal women who consumed high fat diets had 40 percent more incidences of ischemic stroke than low fat eaters. Trans fats, found in processed foods increased risk dramatically. The group of women who consumed seven grams of trans fat each day had 30 percent more stroke incidents than those who ate one gram.

Being Single

A Tel Aviv University study of more than 10,000 Israeli men found that those who were married at midlife were 64 percent less likely to die of a stroke during the next 34 years than single men. The data was adjusted for other stroke risk factors like socioeconomic status, blood pressure and smoking.

Positive Attitude

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston reported in 2001 that among older individuals, positive moods and attitudes protected against strokes. Even incremental increases in happiness helped: For every step up on the researchers’ happiness scale, male participants’ stroke risk dropped 41 percent. Women’s risk dropped 18 percent per happiness unit.

Obesity

According to researchers from the University of Minnesota the more you weigh, the more likely you will have a stroke.  The relationship between weight and stroke is that your health is in jeopardy.  Obesity is linked with high blood pressure and diabetes, risk factors that increase your chance of stroke.

Smoking

According to the American Heart Association, smoking doubles your risk of stroke. Fortunately, quitting can drop that risk back down, even for heavy smokers. One 1988 study found that former smokers had the same rate of stroke as nonsmokers five years after quitting.

Demographics

Blacks have twice the incidence of strokes as whites, according to the American Heart Association.  Blacks have increased rates of diabetes and high blood pressure which could be a factor.

In addition, researchers at the University of Southern California reported that women aged 35 to 64 are almost three times as likely to have a stroke as men of the same age. The reason may be that women in midlife carry more abdominal fat than men, which is another risk factor for stroke.

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100316/sc_livescience/7waystoraiseyourriskofstroke

Recent government data found that twenty percent of black and hispanic children ages 2 to 19 are obese, while only fifteen percent of white children in that same age category struggle with obesity. 

These findings have led to numerous additional studies aimed towards finding out why obesity tends to affect minorities more than their Caucasian counterparts.

A new study published in the medical journal ‘Pediatrics’ helps explain the excessively high obesity rates in minority children.

The study questioned approximately 2,000 Boston area mothers and examined over a dozen factors that can increase a child’s chances of becoming obese.  Almost every factor was more common in black and Hispanic children than in white children.

The risk factors examined included: mothers smoking during pregnancy, unusually rapid weight gain in young infants, starting solid food before 4 months, mothers’ routinely pressuring young kids to eat more, children sleeping less than 12 hours daily between 6 months and 2 years, and allowing very young kids to have sugary drinks, fast food, and allowing children to have televisions in their rooms.  Family income is often a factor, but so are cultural customs and beliefs, the study authors said.

Again, minorities were at higher risk than whites for nearly every factor.

In addition, the study found that many of the factors related to obesity were more common in low income, less educated families, including whites.

There is good news.  Almost every risk factor for childhood obesity can be changed, but ongoing educational programs must be developed to spread the word.  In most cases, a child’s health lies in the hands of mothers who need to be informed and educated about living healthy lifestyles and passing that information to their children.

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100301/ap_on_bi_ge/us_med_kids_and_obesity