Having Big Thighs May Prolong Your Life

Posted by: Wendy Atterberry Filed in: news
10:10AM, Friday September 4th 2009

Good news for a lot of us: having thunder thighs may actually prolong our lives ! A study, published in the British Medical Journal, followed several hundred men and women in Denmark for more than 10 years and discovered that “those with the smallest thighs - below 55cm (about 22 inches) - had twice the risk of early death or serious health problems.” Researchers found that the risk was “more highly related to thigh circumference than to waist circumference” and believe that the risk could be associated with too little muscle mass, which can lead to the body not responding to insulin properly, thus increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, responded to the published study, saying: “This is a very interesting and slightly counter-intuitive piece of work but it has to be respected because of the numbers looked at and the duration of the research. This must be great news for people with larger thighs.” Well, not quite as great as finding perfect-fitting jeans on sale, but I’ll take it. [via BBC News]

comments

lostrun
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 09:21 am: [report]

If this true, I’m gonna live forever!!!

canadiancutie
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 09:23 am: [report]

I knew about these studies before. I’m well aware that the subcutaneous fat found in fleshy thighs and asses helps women live longer than men, and that the more “womanly” a lady’s figure in these ways, the bigger the advantage. I still wish I had Katy Perry’s or Megan Fox’s legs. Hasn’t changed a damn thing. Vanity over health, I guess.

powplz
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 09:27 am: [report]

So my chunk-o-chunk fledgling cyclist thighs are in health-vogue? Sweet.

Simcha Whitehill
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 10:43 am: [report]

I’m gonna live forever!

retro chic
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 11:34 am: [report]

Great news for some, but isn’t this study a recycle of the former apple- vs pear-shaped body findings? The more weight you carry closer to you heart is bad?
My chances are 50/50, but, starting downward, as in reverse Pangaea – nothin’s moving north. :∫

Humble Bee
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 11:48 am: [report]

HEEEYY , I was just complaining about my thighs yesterday on Simchas post!
I guess I don’t dislike them anymore..

bogart4017
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 12:35 pm: [report]

Yeah! Long live thwe big-legged girls!!

impoddity
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 12:40 pm: [report]

I’ll be dead before Monday. :( And here I thought my gym routine was getting me ahead in the game.

canadiancutie
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 12:49 pm: [report]

I call #&@$% on this study, or any study that examines only one ethnicity. What race of people has the least muscle mass and the slimmest thighs? Asians. What race of people has the longest lifespan? Asians.

Similarly, the one-size-fits-all tyranny of the BMI is horsesh*t. Scientists have stated that Asians have an upper limit BMI of 23. 25 is ideal for whites only. 27 has been speculated for blacks but there are studies which show that the optimal BMI for black women is UNDETERMINED. When you do a study in Denmark presumably of people with mostly blonde hair and blue eyes, don’t expect the results to apply to everyone.

impoddity
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 07:58 pm: [report]

@canadiancutie: I was going to call shenanigans after I reread the article and determined that yes, indeed the results of the narrow sample size could not be in fact applied to the general population. And I’m sure there are other factors influencing lifespan, i.e. diet, exercise, genetics, etc.

I hate when studies like this are published and used to blanket the larger, more diverse population. :Seethes: