Hike Shrr Barr!: Fwd: (1979 IM1) thin thighs -high risks of heart disease

Friday, September 4, 2009

Fwd: (1979 IM1) thin thighs -high risks of heart disease

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Date: Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 7:54 AM
Subject: Fwd: (1979 IM1) thin thighs -high risks of heart disease
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Women with skinny model-like thighs have a higher risk of heart disease and premature death than those with an average build, a study claims.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 04 Sep 2009

Researchers found that people with a thigh circumference less than 24 inches (60cm) are more likely to develop coronary disease and die early than those with more chunky thighs.

However, the study, published in the British Medical Journal, also concluded that once you get above the 24 ins limit, there was no major benefit in having even wider legs.

Professor Berit Heitmann, lead author at Copenhagen University Hospital, believes her research may help GPs identify patients who are at an increased risk of early death and developing heart disease.

She said that those with very thin thighs – such as catwalk models – could have as much as a double chance of developing heart disease and dying early than more averagely built contemporaries.

The findings applied to both men and women.

Prof Heitman said: "The model-type figure does seem more at risk than someone with an average size. This could be that thighs are made up mainly of muscle which has a positive affect on regulating insulin and inflammation."

Almost 3000 individuals took part in the study in Denmark – 1,463 men and 1,380 women, aged between 35 and 65 years-old.

Participants were examined in 1987/88 for height, weight, thigh, hip and waist circumference and body composition. They were then followed up for 10 years for incidence of heart disease and 12.5 years for total number of deaths.

During the follow-up period 257 men and 155 women died, also 263 men and 140 women experienced cardiovascular disease and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease. When assessing the results, the authors found that the survivors had higher thigh circumference levels.

The relationship between thigh size and early death and disease was even found after taking body fat and other high risk factors, such as smoking and high cholesterol, into account.

The authors therefore suggest that the risk from narrow thighs could be associated with too little muscle mass in the region. This is problematic because it may lead to low insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes and, in the long run, heart disease, they explain.