(Digital Vision)

Climate can elevate your risk of certain diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, so much, scientists say it’s possible to alter your long-term health forecast by switching climate zones.

When it comes to stroke, however, changes in latitude aren’t enough to lower your risk, a new study published in the journal Neurology found. In the study, people who spent their teens in the geographic ‘Stroke Belt’ continued to have a higher risk of stroke into adulthood, even if they moved away from this high-risk area.

The Stroke Belt is an 11-state cluster, mainly concentrated in the South, which has higher-than-average rates of life-threatening strokes, according to National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute data. It includes Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Southern-style foods like bacon, fried chicken and sweet tea are partially to blame for this phenomenon, a recent study from the University of Alabama, Birmingham found.

Socioeconomic factors, race and ethnicity and family history make a big difference, too. African-Americans have twice the risk of a first-time stroke whites have, according to the American Stroke Association, and the Stroke Belt has a higher proportion of African-Americans than any other area in the country, according to recent U.S. Census data. Globally, socioeconomic status is a major predictor of stroke risk, perhaps because low-income people have less access to preventive care and follow-up treatment after a stroke, according to a recent evidence review published in the journal Stroke.

This new study is the first to pinpoint teen years as a crucial predictor of future stroke risk. A previous study published in Neurology found that people who are born in the area and then move away retain a higher stroke risk throughout their lives. People born outside the area who move to the Stroke Belt in adulthood also develop a higher-than-average risk of dying from stroke, researchers wrote in the new study.

States in the Stroke Belt also clock some of the highest rates of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. To see where your state weighs in, check out this slideshow of the fattest states in the nation, previously compiled by the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Which State is the Fattest?

Gallup-Healthways announced that according to their 2012 surveys, a state known for its stunning outdoor vistas and mountainous terrain has the smallest percentage of citizens who are obese. States here are listed in order from thinnest to fattest - keep clicking to find out where your state ranks. (Thinkstock/George Doyle)