LOS ANGELES - More children and young adults are suffering from stroke mainly due to obesity, the American Stroke Association (ASA) said on Wednesday.

The figures come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age, the ASA said at a conference in Los Angeles.

The ASA said researchers compared stroke hospitalizations from 1994 to 1995 with the ones from 2006 to 2007.

The findings showed that among males aged 15 to 34, the stroke rate surged by nearly 51 percent -- that means there were about 15 stroke cases per 10,000 hospitalizations, and among females in that age group, it increased 17 percent, or there were about four per 10,000.

Strokes soared 31 percent in boys aged five to 14 and 36 percent in girls of the same age.

Men between 35 and 44 years old had a 47 percent increase in stroke incidence. For women in that age range, stroke incidence rose 36 percent.

Stroke still takes its highest toll on older people. For those over 65, there were nearly 300 stroke cases among 10,000 hospitalizations in the more recent period studied.

However, older Americans are suffering fewer strokes. Stroke rates declined 12 percent in men 45 to 64 years old and 13 percent in women in that age range. The rates went down even further for 65- plus men and women: 25 percent in men and 28 percent in women.

Experts blame the obesity epidemic for the rise in stroke cases among yongsters.

Obesity increases rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, thus raising the risk for stroke, experts say.