Our big thighs are keeping us alive

Bad news for skinny exercise freaks and good news for those of us with thunder thighs.   High-grade medical research has revealed that men and women with thighs over 60cm (23.6in) in circumference have a lower risk of heart disease and early death. 

Yes this was in The Sun – but they got the dstory from the world-renowned British Medical Journal.  A Danish study of 3,000 people suggests this is true – which is one of the weirdest medical facts I have ever heard

The relationship remains even when body fat, smoking and blood cholesterol are taken into account, according to the Danish trial.

Those with narrow thighs may not have enough muscle mass to deal with insulin properly, raising the risk of diabetes and, in turn, heart disease, they say.

Experts cautioned that the research needed corroborating.

Some said it was too early to change current advice on eating and exercise for heart health, but the researchers said thigh size could be used as a marker for at-risk patients.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, followed men and women in Denmark for more than 10 years. They were measured for height, weight and thigh, hip and waist circumference and their overall percentage of body fat was calculated.

 Researchers also looked at the activity levels of the participants, whether they smoked, their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

They then monitored incidence of heart disease over 10 years and death rates over 12-and-a-half years. 

During this time, 257 men and 155 women died, 263 men and 140 women developed cardiovascular disease and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease.

The team at the Copenhagen University Hospital found that those with the smallest thighs – below 55cm – had twice the risk of early death or serious health problems

Professor Berit Heitmann, who led the research, said: “The increased risk was independent of abdominal and general obesity and lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure.

“Additionally we found that the risk was more highly related to thigh circumference than to waist circumference.

Hmmm – I think I will now go and measure my thighs.