Photo/Illutration The National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Suita, Osaka Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

SUITA, Osaka Prefecture—Although obesity raises the risk of cerebral stroke, moderately chubby elderly individuals are more likely to recover from the life-threatening condition than their skinny counterparts, according to a survey.

“Elderly people with slim bodies should be careful to eat plenty of food with the aim of maintaining a proper weight,” said Kaori Miwa, a chief doctor from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Suita who was part of the research team.

For the study, the scientists used a databank containing information, including diagnoses, on 56,230 stroke patients around Japan from 2006 to 2020.

They used body mass index (BMI) to assess the patients’ degree of obesity.

BMI is obtained by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters, then dividing the result by the height again.

For Asians, the World Health Organization classifies BMI levels of less than 18.5 as “underweight,” while BMIs of 18.5 to 22.9 show “normal weight.”

Levels from 23.0 to 24.9 indicate being “overweight,” and people with BMIs from 25.0 to 29.9 fall under Class I Obesity.

Of all surveyed patients, 43,668 were hospitalized for cerebral infarction, a type of stroke marked by blood supply obstruction. Their average age was 74.

The researchers studied the patients’ ability to care for themselves on their own when they were discharged from hospital.

Patients who died or became bedridden were placed in the “unfavorable outcome” category.

The team used 1 as the risk level for unfavorable outcomes among patients of normal weight.

Underweight individuals were 1.47 times more likely to fall into unfavorable outcomes, while the risk level was 0.87 for those classified as overweight and 0.92 for Class I Obesity patients.

The team also studied the cases of 9,741 patients struck by cerebral hemorrhage. Their average age was 69.

The possibility of unfavorable outcomes from this condition was 1.41 for the underweight category, 0.97 for overweight people and 0.87 for Class I Obesity people.

The team said underweight elderly individuals may have more difficulty recovering from cerebral stroke or hemorrhage because of undernutrition and physical frailty.

The team’s findings have been published in the specialized magazine International Journal of Stroke at (https://doi.org/10.1177/17474930241249370).

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