Does More Butt And Thigh Fat Make You Healthier?

Jan. 12, 2010— -- Public health officials have harped on actively taking steps to reduce obesity, but it seems for some genetically lucky individuals, reducing their body fat isn't as important.

A new review published by researchers at the University of Oxford and Churchill Hospital in the United Kingdom suggests that people who carry their body fat in their thighs and backside aren't just carrying extra weight, but also some extra protection against diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with obesity.

"It is the protective role of lower body, that is [thigh and backside] fat, that is striking. The protective properties of the lower body fat depot have been confirmed in many studies conducted in subjects with a wide range of age, BMI and co-morbidities," the researchers write in the most recent issue of the Journal of Obesity.

"If you're going to have fat, you're definitely better off if you've got some fat in the lower body," said Dr. Michael Jensen, director of endocrine research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "If you look at people who have primarily the pear shape, they're healthy in all the ways that this fat behaves. It's not just less heart attacks or less diabetes, it's all these ways we think about fat as an important organ for our health."

For years, researchers have looked into the idea that not all fat is created equal. People who carry their fat in their stomachs, also known as "apple-shaped" people, are said to have more problems from obesity than those who carry their fat in their hips

People who carry their fat in their thighs and backsides -- otherwise known as their gluteofemoral region -- appear to be in a similar class to those with fat in their hips.

"There's a lot of evidence that shows that the fat depots are not the same in the body," said Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor medicine specializing in obesity at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

He explained that the fat stored in the stomach is harmful because "it is more metabolically active," sending fatty contents and messages throughout the body, whereas fat in the lower regions of the body tends to be more stable and release fewer cytokines, which have been implicated in the insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes.

"There's a whole range of these hormonal markers that seem to be more preferentially released from the belly," said Kushner.