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Heart disease, death linked to slim thighs
LA Times via Denver Post ^ | 09/05/2009 | Shari Roan

Posted on 09/07/2009 1:13:34 PM PDT by neverdem

Leg size may be a more accurate indicator of risks than the waistline.

We know having a large waistline is unhealthy. But larger thighs, it appears, may protect against heart disease and premature death.

A study published on BMJ.com, the website of the British Medical Journal, found that men and women whose thighs are less than 23.6 inches have a higher risk of premature death and heart disease compared with those with thighs exceeding that size. Having thighs that are even bigger, however, confers no added benefit. The study is the first to suggest that thigh size matters.

The measurement was of subjects' right thighs. It was taken as high up on the leg as possible.

The study also found that cardiovascular death risk was more strongly related to thigh circumference than to waist circumference. People with a circumference of less than 21 inches doubled their risk factor.

It seems logical that large thighs signal a higher fat content, which would be bad for cardiovascular health. So why are slender thighs worse? The authors suggest that small thighs could mean there is too little muscle mass in the region. The presence of muscle tissue influences insulin resistance and other cardiovascular risks.

The authors recommend more emphasis on lower-body workouts to strengthen legs.

"Behaviors to selectively reduce waist circumference are generally unknown," they wrote. "Thigh muscle mass, on the other hand, can be selectively increased by lower body physical activity."...

(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Testing
KEYWORDS: death; heartdisease; slimthighs; thighs
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To: neverdem

Don’t be surprised if I keel over, mine are 18 inches.

Honestly, I am not that skinny but I have a small bone frame.


21 posted on 09/07/2009 1:43:18 PM PDT by tiki (True Christians will not deliberately slander or misrepresent others or their beliefs)
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To: neverdem

Michelle Obama is ahead of the curve on this one.


22 posted on 09/07/2009 1:47:38 PM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: neverdem

The study is the first to suggest that thigh size matters...

Let me be the 1st to suggest that the BMJ is a joke.


23 posted on 09/07/2009 1:55:20 PM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: neverdem; Rose in RoseBear
But larger thighs, it appears, may protect against heart disease and premature death.

WooHoo! Here's one for the big-legged women! (with a nod to Taj Mahal)

24 posted on 09/07/2009 1:57:56 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: fortunecookie

Same here! A doctor told me that because I have a lot of allergies I probably never would have cancer, now this new good news about my fat thighs.

(Why am I doubtful about this?)

I think I’ll have another cookie and think about it......


25 posted on 09/07/2009 1:58:34 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: neverdem
Being overweight. is a personal choice that everyone has to make for themselves. However, it won't help your heart.

I lost a lot of weight. I fight every day to keep the weight off, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. So far, so good.
26 posted on 09/07/2009 2:01:31 PM PDT by mysterio
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To: neverdem
I'm dead meat then, skinny as I am. So I'm going for the best beer bash ever on my way out. Somebody got a light? I'm going to smoke until I die. I never expected to live forever.

/johnny

27 posted on 09/07/2009 2:11:33 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: neverdem
'But larger thighs, it appears, may protect against heart disease and premature death.'

And THAT's the reason that I cut my walk a mile short this morning; it was all for my HEALTH!
Yay!!

(well... it sure sounds better then the "I'm too tired to finish" excuse I told myself this morning!)
28 posted on 09/07/2009 2:20:52 PM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29 (Pug- Multum in parvo (Latin for 'much in little') And it's true.)
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To: neverdem; All

I guess Hillary is gonna live a long, long time ...


29 posted on 09/07/2009 2:27:13 PM PDT by Lmo56
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To: org.whodat
Why the hell’d you drag Michelle and her Mama into this?
30 posted on 09/07/2009 2:33:29 PM PDT by skimbell
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To: Ditter
A doctor told me that because I have a lot of allergies I probably never would have cancer, now this new good news about my fat thighs.

Really? I have lots of allergies, love that golden rod and ragweed out now. That would be good news. Now - about those cookies... ;-)

31 posted on 09/07/2009 3:57:45 PM PDT by fortunecookie (Please pray for Anna, age 7, who waits for a new kidney.)
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To: fortunecookie

Well the cookies are to plump up my thighs for more heart attack protection silly!


32 posted on 09/07/2009 5:11:56 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: neverdem

Then I guess I’ll live forever!


33 posted on 09/07/2009 5:15:19 PM PDT by Mom MD (Jesus is the Light of the world!)
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To: neverdem
"But larger thighs, it appears, may protect against heart disease and premature death."

This is far from new!

This fact was well known in the mid to late '50s, and it isn't just thighs, but the entire leg.

34 posted on 09/07/2009 6:53:03 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (The beginning of the O'Bomb-a administration looks a lot like the end of the Nixon administration)
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To: youngidiot
" I'm with Thomas Sowell. I often look at the diet ads and think that the 'before' woman looks better than the “after” woman."

Almost universally so! - Few women look as good after losing a significant amount of weight. - They look like they have a terminal illness in the after pics.

35 posted on 09/07/2009 7:00:48 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (The beginning of the O'Bomb-a administration looks a lot like the end of the Nixon administration)
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To: Ditter
ROFL! That's one way...
36 posted on 09/07/2009 8:49:07 PM PDT by fortunecookie (Please pray for Anna, age 7, who waits for a new kidney.)
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To: El Gato; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Robert A. Cook, PE; lepton; LadyDoc; jb6; tiamat; PGalt; Dianna; ...
Flab and freckles could advance stem cell research

A Stem-Cell Discovery Could Help Diabetics

Breakthrough in fight against diabetes

Two soft drinks a day may lead to long term liver damage

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

37 posted on 09/07/2009 11:35:00 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: Lmo56

Not so.. Hillary has elephant ankles.. not thighs.


38 posted on 09/08/2009 5:00:07 PM PDT by Ancient Drive (And so I´m leaving ground - I leave the skylines of my life - I plough new lifelines in my skin)
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To: NativeNewYorker

Good Lord! That one needs a bunch of square meals.


39 posted on 09/08/2009 5:28:13 PM PDT by Ole Okie (American)
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To: EGPWS

You don’t need a doctor to do that.


40 posted on 09/08/2009 5:31:10 PM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma (Al Franken--the face of the third-party voters)
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