For Migraine Awareness Week, we explain what migraine really is, the symptoms and triggers to know, and the emerging connection with weight and metabolic health.
Reviewer: Melanie Löfgren (Envigore CEO)
Migraine Awareness Week matters because migraine is one of the most common neurological conditions, and one of the most misunderstood. Around 10 million people in the UK live with migraine, yet it is still too often dismissed as “just a headache”.
Migraine is far more than that. Here, we explain what a migraine attack can feel like, common triggers and the connection between migraine, weight and metabolic health that is receiving growing attention.
Envigore does not diagnose or treat migraine. This article is for general information and should not replace advice from your GP or another qualified healthcare professional.
What is a migraine?
Migraine is a neurological condition, not simply a bad headache. The pain is often throbbing and may affect one side of the head, but an attack usually involves more than pain.
Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound or smell, and overwhelming fatigue. Some people experience an aura before or during an attack, which may cause flashing lights, blind spots, tingling or difficulty speaking.
A migraine attack can last from a few hours to several days and may be seriously disabling. Chronic migraine is defined as having a headache on at least 15 days a month, with migraine symptoms on at least eight of those days, for more than three months.
What are common migraine triggers?
Migraine triggers vary from person to person, which is part of what makes the condition so frustrating. Commonly reported triggers include:
- Stress
- Poor or irregular sleep
- Dehydration
- Skipping meals
- Alcohol
- Changes in caffeine intake
- Hormonal changes
- Bright or flickering light
Two practical places to start are staying well hydrated and keeping your meals and sleep as regular as possible. Our guide to five daily habits that add up offers some simple ways to build a steadier routine.
A headache diary can also help you record when attacks happen, how long they last and what was happening beforehand. Over time, this may make your individual patterns easier to recognise and discuss with your GP.
What is the connection between migraine and weight?
The relationship between migraine and weight is complex. Research has found links between migraine and metabolic conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, sleep apnoea and depression.
Living with excess weight is associated with a higher likelihood of migraine becoming more frequent or progressing from episodic to chronic migraine. Studies involving people living with obesity have also found that weight loss may reduce the frequency, severity and duration of migraine attacks.
However, weight is only one possible part of the picture. Migraine is influenced by a wide range of biological, hormonal, environmental and lifestyle factors. Losing weight is not a cure and will not improve migraine for everyone.
Weight loss may also improve headaches associated with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a separate condition involving raised pressure around the brain. This condition requires assessment and treatment from an appropriate healthcare specialist.
What does the GLP-1 research tell us?
You may have seen headlines suggesting that GLP-1 weight-management medicines could reduce migraine attacks. At present, the research is still at an early stage.
Small pilot studies and observational analyses are exploring whether GLP-1 medicines might affect migraine through changes in inflammation or pressure regulation, as well as through weight loss. Some early findings are encouraging, but they do not yet prove that GLP-1 medicines prevent or treat migraine.
These medicines are not licensed as a migraine treatment. The current evidence is a research story to watch, not a reason to seek a GLP-1 medicine for headaches. Anyone experiencing migraine should speak to their GP or a neurologist about established treatment options.
When should you speak to a doctor about headaches?
Speak to your GP if your headaches are frequent, persistent, becoming more severe or affecting your daily life. Effective treatments are available to help manage individual attacks and reduce how often they happen.
Call 999 or seek urgent medical help if you experience:
- A sudden, extremely severe headache that reaches its peak within seconds
- A headache with a fever, stiff neck or rash
- New weakness, numbness, confusion or difficulty speaking
- Sudden loss of vision or double vision
- What feels like the worst headache of your life
These symptoms can sometimes indicate a more serious condition and should not wait.
How Envigore can help
Migraine should be assessed and managed by your GP or a neurologist. That is where migraine treatment belongs.
However, if excess weight or your wider metabolic health is part of your health picture, that is something we can support alongside your migraine care, rather than instead of it.
Book a consultation with Envigore to explore your weight-management options.
Frequently asked questions
These questions reflect the guidance above and are reviewed by our clinical team before publication.
No. Migraine is a neurological condition. Head pain is only one possible part of an attack. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound or smell, and severe fatigue. Some people also experience an aura.
Attacks can last for hours or days and may be seriously disabling, which is why migraine deserves to be taken seriously.
Triggers vary between individuals. Commonly reported triggers include stress, irregular sleep, dehydration, skipped meals, alcohol, changes in caffeine intake, hormonal changes and bright light.
Keeping a headache diary can help you identify your own patterns, as two people with migraine may have very different triggers.
For some people living with obesity, weight loss may reduce the frequency, severity or duration of migraine attacks. Excess weight is also associated with migraine becoming more frequent.
However, weight is not the only factor involved, and losing weight is not a migraine cure. Any weight-management plan should be based on your wider health needs.
GLP-1 medicines are not currently licensed to treat migraine. Early studies are investigating whether they could affect migraine through several possible mechanisms, and some results are encouraging. However, the evidence remains preliminary and does not yet establish these medicines as a safe or effective migraine treatment.
Speak to your GP or a neurologist about established migraine treatments rather than seeking a GLP-1 medicine for headaches.
Speak to your GP if headaches are frequent, persistent, worsening or interfering with daily life.
Call 999 or seek urgent medical help for a sudden and extremely severe headache, a headache with fever and a stiff neck or rash, or new symptoms such as weakness, numbness, confusion, speech difficulties or sudden vision changes.
+ Sources
- The Migraine Trust. What is migraine? Information on migraine symptoms, attack frequency and chronic migraine. https://migrainetrust.org/understand-migraine/what-is-migraine/
- Ornello, R., et al. (2015). Migraine and body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Journal of Headache and Pain, 16, 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-015-0510-z.
- Di Vincenzo, A., et al. (2020). Effects of surgical and non-surgical weight loss on migraine headache: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Surgery, 30(6), pp. 2173–2185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-020-04429-z.
- Braca, S., et al. (2025). Effectiveness and tolerability of liraglutide as add-on treatment in patients with obesity and high-frequency or chronic migraine: a prospective pilot study. Headache. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.14991.
- European Association for the Study of Obesity (2026). Nationwide observational analysis of migraine medicine use following semaglutide initiation, presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2026.
- NHS. Headaches. Guidance on headache symptoms, self-care and when to seek urgent medical help. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/headaches/
About Your Clinical Team
This content was medically reviewed and approved by Danny Gian Hou Chu, a HCPC-Registered Advance Paramedic Prescriber (PA38670), who oversees all prescribing decisions at Envigore.
All prescriptions are dispensed by Right Medicine Pharmacy, a GPhC-Registered Pharmacy (No. 9012382).
Nutritional guidance and lifestyle support is provided by Veronica Giudice, a HCPC-Registered Dietitian (DT26570) and British Dietetic Association member.
Last medically reviewed: September 2026