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Big thighs linked to lower heart disease risk
04.09.09
Men and women with large thighs have a lower risk of premature death and heart disease, a study showed today.
People whose thighs measure at least 23.6in (60cm) in circumference were less likely to develop heart disease or die early, a 12-year study of almost 3,000 men and women in Denmark found.
Professor Berit Heitmann said thigh size could be used by GPs as "an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality".
"A small thigh circumference was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases and total mortality in both men and women," he said.
"A threshold effect for thigh circumference was evident, with greatly increased risk of premature death below around 60cm."
He added: "The fact that more than half of the men and women aged 35-65 have thigh circumference below the threshold is worrying."
The Monica (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease) project, published online on bmj.com today, found there was no added protective effect for people with thighs in excess of 60cm.
Body fat and other high risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol were taken into account by the study.
Prof Heitmann, director of the research unit for dietary studies at Copenhagen University Hospital, said: "The adverse effects of small thighs might be related to too little muscle mass in the region."
He said this was something which could be increased by lower body physical activity.
In 1987/88, 1,463 men and 1,380 women had their thighs measured and were then followed up 10 years later to check the incidence of heart disease, and 12.5 years later to study the total number of deaths.
A total of 257 men and 155 women died, 263 men and 140 women suffered cardiovascular disease, and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease.
The survivors had higher fat-free thigh circumference levels, the study found.
Dr Ian Scott, of Australia's Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, said if measuring a patient's thigh proved to be an effective way of identifying those at higher risk of heart disease and premature death, it would have "intriguing" public health implications.
But the study raised the question of whether there was a "real and independent association" between thigh size and heart disease or whether it was a "spurious or chance finding", he said.
He also questioned whether such an association was "biologically plausible".
Dr Scott said: "More research is needed to see whether measuring the thigh circumference with a tape measure adds anything more to our clinical management than eliciting risk factors from the history, examining the cardiovascular system and measuring serum lipids.
"Randomised trials are needed to test whether interventions that increase thigh muscle mass through increased physical activity - in addition to or separate from current primary prevention strategies - decrease cardiovascular risk more than current practice.
"If this approach is shown to be effective, the public health implications would be intriguing."
Reader views (6)
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
Still, there are many misconceptions about heart disease: "The biggest misconception is that heart disease only happens to the elderly," said Elizabeth Schilling, CRNP with the Center for Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
So, it is now a wise decision to keep a constant monitoring of your health. Why to take a chance if we have the option. I was in the similar misconception that heart disease are far away waiting for me to get aged. But to my surprise, I was found to be having a calcium deposit in my coronary arteries. I need to have my advance diagnostic scans due reassure whether something really deadly is waiting for me. Though it was some dreadful going on in my life, but I never felt any kind of discomfort in Elitehealth.com advanced diagnostic facility. They were having some of the latest diagnostic equipments and non invasive techniques which made me feel safe.
- Elite Health, usa
I recall standing in a queue to get into Disneyworld in Florida, surrounded by people whose thighs were thicker than my waist. It seemed to me that they were heart attacks waiting to happen.
Statements like this lead to confusion because they are so indefinite in what they are telling us.
- George, Cambridge UK
It's apple shaped women that recieve all the health scare stories these days and this is just another way of putting it. Instead of saying people with wider waists have a greater tendancy toward heart disease and diabetes they are now saying people with skinny thighs are at risk - pretty much the same body shape then. I.e. the pear shaped woman (small waist, bigger hips) is OK and the apple shaped woman (bigger waist, slimmer hips) has a lifetime of health risk to look forward to! No news here.
- Isabel, Woking
My friend has taken asprin for three years and stopped after Monday's scare story. On Wednesday is GP told him he was overweight as his waist was over 34". He just rang me to say all he has to do is transfer his stomach to his thighs!
- Michael, London
My elderly neighbour recently had a pretty bad outdoor fall. (She was diagnosed a few years ago with osteoporosis). Although it was painful to her feet and knees, remarkably she was otherwise unaffected. The instant worry was had a hip been broken. But she (and I have to concur), is convinced that the fat padding around her hips and thighs are what prevented a possible catastrophic outcome.
We get told repeatedly of the dangers to health of the pear-shaped woman. Outside of anorexia, we almost never hear of the dangers of becoming thin, or even very thin. Ballerinas used to inevitably get osteoporosis very early on. Now that middle aged and older women work so hard to not just lose weight, but become ultra trim, they should perhaps consider the problems ahead in older age, of losing too much fat and too much muscle. Particularly in the leg and upper leg areas.
- Jennifer, London
I am very pleased with this research i have always had big thighs even though i am a very small person so i am glad they will come in handy for something.
- Kay, London
