Low strength and excess belly fat linked to higher stroke odds
Having both conditions was linked to stroke odds 1.96 times as high in China and 2.38 times as high in England, compared with neither.
Independent replication
An observational study followed 10,153 middle-aged and older adults in China and 5,421 in England for seven years. Researchers grouped participants according to whether they had low muscle strength, abdominal obesity—excess fat around the waist—both or neither.
People with both conditions had higher odds of a new stroke than those with neither, after researchers accounted for social and demographic factors, lifestyle and other health conditions. The association was stronger for the combined conditions than for either alone. Researchers used the English cohort to check whether the association seen in the Chinese cohort also appeared in another population.
Why it matters
Assessing muscle strength alongside abdominal obesity may help clinicians and nutritionists identify middle-aged and older adults who warrant attention to stroke risk.
Caveats
The observational design cannot show that these conditions caused strokes or that targeting them would reduce stroke risk. The findings concern middle-aged and older adults in the Chinese and English cohorts studied.
The paper
Jinan Third People's Hospital
The British Journal of Nutrition, 15 Oct 2026
