High-Fat Diet More Than Waistline Worry for Women Over 50

We know diets high in fat, like those that are prevalent in Western countries, are harmful and can lead to a variety of health problems such as diabetes, heart failure, and obesity. They have also been associated with a decline in cognitive ability over long time spans. High-fat diets have negative short term effects as well. Research published online late last year revealed that after less than 10 days, rats that ate a high-fat diet had a lower ability to exercise and showed serious short-term memory loss. But if that’s not enough to make you reevaluate your diet, this might be. A new study has found that fat-laden diets, particularly those high in trans fat, can significantly raise the risk of ischemic stroke for women over 50.

The study, the largest to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat, involved 87,230 women aged 50 to 79. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire when they entered the study and were put into four groups based on how much fat they ate. They were followed for an average of 7.6 years, at the end of which a total of 1,049 ischemic strokes had occurred. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, accounting for about 87 percent of all cases. It occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. The underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty deposits lining the vessel walls, a condition called atherosclerosis.  

There were 288 strokes among the group who had the highest intakes of total fat, an average of 95 grams a day, compared to 249 strokes in the group consuming the least fat, about 25 grams. After assessing all information, including other factors that affect stroke risk, such as exercise, weight, smoking, medication and ethnicity, use of alcohol, aspirin or hormones, the researchers concluded that women who ate the most fat had a 44 percent greater risk of stroke. “It’s a tremendous increase that is potentially avoidable,” said Dr. Emil Matarese, stroke chief at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pennsylvania who reviewed the findings but did not help conduct the study. “What’s bad for the heart is bad for the brain.”

There was also a 30 percent greater risk of stroke among women with the highest intakes of trans fat (about 7 grams per day), the chemically altered fat found in most packaged and processed foods, fried foods, crackers and cookies. “We need to look at the labels on the foods we buy,” because many fats are hidden in baked goods and people are not aware of how much they’re consuming, Matarese said. “This is a simple way that any woman, especially postmenopausal women, can improve their health. Simply avoiding fried foods is a big one.”