Thin may still be all the rage, and many of us feel the pressure from social and cultural cues to shed pounds, but recent research coming out of the U.K. suggests that a little meat on those bones may indicate a lowered susceptibility to heart disease.
The cue is provided by thigh circumference, according to the recent cardiology study that has been published in the British Medical Journal. The study group was made up of nearly 3,000 men and women with an average age of about 50 years.
Those individuals sporting those to-die-for rail-thin legs, with thigh circumference of less than 55 centimeters, were found to have a twice than normal risk for heart disease.
Those with thigh circumference between 55 and 60 centimeters were found to have an overall lowered profile of risk for heart disease, and the risk factor benefits were found to decline as thigh circumference went beyond 60 centimeters.
The linkage appears to be rooted in thigh circumference as an indicator of fitness and activity level. Smaller thighs would appear to indicate low muscle mass based on inadequate physical exercise. And the larger than ideal thighs are probably reflective of a too-rich diet combined with inadequate physical exercise.
Photo courtesy of Kudumomo, via Flickr
By David Bois from Tonic.com
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from someone who has felt her thighs have always been to big.. this is great!!! yeah! finally a reason to embrace the big thigh!!