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By Stephen Beech via SWNS Women who were overweight as a teenager or young adult are far more likely to suffer a stroke by the age of 55, warns new research But men who were overweight as youngsters do not have the same risk, according to the 40-year study. Researchers found that women carrying excess weight at age 14 or 31 may be at an increased risk of suffering an ischemic, or clot-caused, stroke before the age of 55. Even slimming down after adolescence may not eliminate the risk, say scientists.

Finnish scientists followed more than 10,000 men and women from birth for the study, published in the journal Stroke . They found women obese at the age of 14 were 87% more likely to have an early clot-caused stroke or mini-stroke, while those obese at the age of 31 were 167% more likely to have a stroke compared to those of an appropriate weight. Women obese at the age of 31 were almost 3.



5 times more likely to suffer a bleeding stroke, and men obese at age 31 had a more than 5.5 times increased risk of a bleeding stroke. An ischemic stroke occurs when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed.

They account for 87% of all strokes. The study suggests that women who were overweight at age 14 were associated with later clot-caused stroke risk despite having lost weight by the age of 31. And women who were overweight aged 31, were associated with later clot-caused stroke risk despite having been normal weight at the age of 14.

An increased risk of clot-caused stroke was no.

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