Skinny Thighs Linked to Heart Disease
Just when you thought the advice on protecting your heart from cardiovascular disease couldn't get any more standard, here comes a wild card study out of nowhere:
People with skinny thighs are more likely to develop, and die from, heart disease.
So much for that skinny jeans workout!
But wait, before you decide to embrace your big thigh-ness with a break from the gym, and a pint of Hubby Hubby, let's dissect this a little further.
Danish researchers followed 2,800 middle-aged people for 12 years. They found that those who had the smallest thigh circumference, 23.6 inches for instance, had twice the risk of developing heart disease. Stick-thin thighs put people at even greater risk.
The flip side of this though, is that having larger than average thighs doesn't appear to provide a protective benefit either.
Researchers theorize that the lack of lower body muscle mass affected the metabolism in a negative way, putting the body at risk for disease.
I wonder if this has something to do with the apple vs. pear theory. Apples often carry their weight dangerously in the middle and have smaller limbs, while pears are safer, with their weight dispersed in their lower extremities instead.
Either way, the standard advice to protect your heart health hasn't changed:
- Eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
- Exercise moderately most days of the week.
- Stop smoking.
- Drink in moderation.
- Get plenty of sleep.
So, what do you make of this study?
15 Comments
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I'm safe! That's what I get for inheriting the thighs of a race horse.
ReplyMe too. Yay?
ReplyAnother nonsense study. Correlation != causation. How many of those skinny thighed women are anorexic?
ReplyProbably none. Being in a study like this would involve having a researcher scrutinizing her body, which an anorexic would probably avoid if at all possible. Anorexic and severely underweight are two different things.
ReplyLike the standard advice. I have more gymnastic type thighs & work my legs pretty good so I am not too worried about this "another study".
ReplyI don't have to worry about that. I was "gifted" with huge thighs and calves. My sister and I always joke that we don't have calves... we have full grown cows!
That is even true now that I've lost 75 pounds and am in the normal weight range.
Some other studies that are bothering me are the ones that show that you actually live longer being slightly overweight. I know I felt my best when I reached about 10 pounds over the top end of my ideal weight from the charts.
I'm thinking of gaining 20 pounds back using healthy methods. That would put me 10 pounds overweight, but two studies are showing that is the best place to be.
What do you think?
-Kristi Daniels
ReplyI think two things might come into play
1. Risk of being underweight period
2. Skinny thigh'ed people are probably likely to be apple shaped and we already know from countless studies that puts you at increase risk.
Regardless, genetics and muscles from a hell of lot of physical activity mean my thighs are huge relative to my waist and size in general. Normally that bothers me, but hey, guess it isn't so bad.
ReplyI have a Hank Hill butt and wide hips like a women. Will I be okay?
ReplyOkay so... my things at the widest part, below where my tucus starts to come out, is 20 inches around. but another study said that women whos calves are less than 13 inches are also at risk for heart disease. mine are 14 inches around. alot of the comments are saying that people with legs that are smaller have apple shaped bodies and are therefore at risk. but with a waist of 24" isn't it possible that im just in proportion?
ReplyAs a pear shape with muscular thighs I look at skinny legged women with green eyes of jealousy! I've always thought of those women as having 'lucky legs', lucky they don't snap off that is. :)
Many studies have shown that carrying excess weight on the waist is a risk factor for health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. I don't know about the legs, I think its the waist that is strongly linked to health.
ReplyI think it is a worthless study. How about marathon runners who are very lean?
ReplyWhen are they going to run out of things to measure so they can correlate it with various chronic diseases. How about head circumference? You dont even need a good theory.
ReplyMy theory is that people who work out regularly probably just develop their thigh muscles naturally and people who work out are going to have healthier cardiovascular systems. Bikers, runners, soccer players, swimmers, etc. all have big thighs and all of them probably have healthy hearts. I myself have very large thighs in proportion to the rest of my body. They aren't bigger than 23" because I'm small framed, but they are large enough to make my jeans fit weird.
ReplyAh the bane of all of us thick thighed people - skinny jeans. I can't fit into those jeans those anorexic looking guys wear - you know the ones that get worshiped by Ambercrombie & Fitch.
ReplyUgh, the tough thing about jeans! Do I want clingy legs (my thighs and calves are pretty big) or a big gap waist? :) My body isn't helped in that the "curvy" jeans aren't great either because I don't have a butt either, just thick legs!
Reply