Beware, Fat People! A Stroke Might Be A-Comin’!

It’s a dichotomy, I realize now. A long time ago, when I was little, I did mind if anybody called me chubby, which I was, until about seventh grade when I got self-conscious, right on schedule. But “PC,” the expression, wasn’t in yet. Clothes used to come in regular and chubby sizes. I took a chubby size all the way through elementary school. I didn’t know any different because I had a fat brood—my immediate family, uncles, aunts, cousins, fat people whatever way I turned. The truth is, I loved to eat because I didn’t know any better. Eating a lot used to equate to love. But what the hell?

The fat that I once had doesn’t have any bearing on the stroke I now have, or does it? But if you’re overweight, morbidly obese, chubby, pleasantly plump—call it what you want—you may be in trouble.

The National Stroke Association says that obesity can put stress on the whole circulatory system. And a recent Harvard University study found that you could cut your stroke risk by
30 percent by eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables instead of fries, chips, alcohol, and soda. Citrus fruits, broccoli, and cauliflower are noted as particularly helpful. It may be their higher concentrations of potassium, folic acid, and fiber are the clues.

And an escalating number of children are obese. That’s why there are cases of stroke in younger individuals, too—even babies (see my articles in my blog, http://stroketales.blogspot.com/2012_12_09_archive.html and http://stroketales.blogspot.com/2013_04_06_archive.html).

Ok. Need more evidence? A new study by researchers at Columbia University says that people with abdominal obesity are at higher risk of ischemic stroke, the most usual kind of stroke, caused by blockage of a blood vessel in the brain.

• Underweight = 18 and below
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

So I did it. I found out, thinking I was normal weight, that I fall into the normal weight range, just by a smidgeon. I tried another scale, this one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/results_overweight.html. Same result. I was shocked. Just a smidgeon? Seriously?

And one more thing. Being overweight and having a stroke is just too much at times. When I gorge, I watch myself over the next few days. It’s like you can tell you’ve gained weight without a scale to remind you. It’s the extra pounds that add to the baggage you have to lug around in the first place.

I could fool those old-time types on the Boardwalk and at county fairs that could guess my weight and give me a prize if they were crazy off the mark. I think that old saying is true, for me at least: “You carry your weight well.” And that expression needs to be addressed.