Can Thunder Thighs Help Heart Health?

Sept. 4, 2009 — -- It sounds counterintuitive given the health risks of obesity, but up to a point, bigger thighs might mean a smaller risk of heart disease or premature death, researchers say.

In a study relesased Thursday, men and women whose thighs measured less than about 24 inches in circumference were found to have an increased risk for both heart disease and death, Dr. Berit Heitmann of Copenhagen University Hospital and colleagues reported online in the British Medical Journal.

"Smaller thighs are a disadvantage to health and survival for both sexes," the researchers said.

Physicians currently use several measures used to predict cardiovascular risk, including waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index (BMI). However, none is notably superior, so the researchers investigated another potential predictor -- thigh size.

The explanation: lower muscle mass in the lower body and in the legs has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. Some studies have reported that insulin resistance may be provoked in the leg muscle, and that low levels of subcutaneous fat in the thighs leads to adverse glucose and lipid, or fat, metabolism.

But some researchers are not convinced about this potential mechanism. Dr. Douglas Zipes, past president of the American College of Cardiology, said that "waist circumference and its possible relationship to metabolic syndrome and diabetes made sense as a risk factor. This does not.

"I would have predicted fat thighs to be a cardiovascular risk because of a relationship to obesity," Zipes added. "Further, some people are just big, and will have thick thighs, and others small. So I would be interested in the thigh sizes of some young -- and tiny -- women who are at low risk of cardiovascular disease."

He said further studies must replicate the results "before I become a believer and start measuring the thighs of my patients."