Slog
News & ArtsMonday, September 7, 2009
Health Skinny Thighs = Death
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 10:50 AM
A little good news for the average American:
People with naturally thin thighs may be at greater risk for developing heart disease and dying an early death, a Danish study found. Researchers have been measuring body sizes and shapes for years to look for clues about who is most vulnerable to heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. While most of the effort has focused on height, weight and the size of the hips relative to the waist, no one approach stands out, doctors said.Researchers took detailed measurements and evaluated the body composition of 1,436 men and 1,380 women in Denmark, then tracked their health for more than a decade as part of a study conducted on behalf of the World Health Organization. People with the thinnest thighs had a two-fold greater risk of heart disease and death, and the risk rose as thigh size declined.
2
I have news for them. We're all going to die. I know that's hard for some but none the less, it's true. You can have thighs like SUV's and you too will die. So get over it!
3
It is studies like this that support the fact that shaming people based on their size is wrong. Period. Talking about potential health effects is one thing, but studies should be weighed against eachother and all taken with a grain of salt. Either way, treating a group of people with less respect because they don't starve themselves and work out a 100 hours a week (and even if they do and are still not skinny) and telling them to just "eat less and exercise more" is simplistic and dumb.
4
People with thin thighs are often "apple-shaped" rather than "pear-shaped" - abdominal fat is less healthy than hip/thigh fat.
Correlation/causation is complicated.
Correlation/causation is complicated.
5
I hear old age increases your chance of dying too. Maybe I could get somebodyy to fund a study on that, eh?
7
Personally, there are few things less appealing than pencil thin legs (shudder). We don't celebrate the meaty gams of dancers and figure skaters half as much as they deserve.
9
@4 I had the same thought. Also, diabetics often have the body shape you described, and they are certainly at greater risk for heart disease.
10
Has anyone else ever noticed the body shapes/postures of people who already have heart problems? They always have really broad stiff shoulders, heavier chest and mid section, then skinny skinny chicken legs. I can almost pick people with heart issues out of a crowd its so obvious.
Thank god I'm a pear. whew. not only for heart problems but for fashion as well.
Thank god I'm a pear. whew. not only for heart problems but for fashion as well.
12
Oh, for God's sake. NEWS NEWS: We're All Going To Die. of something or other. at some point or another.
Moving on.
Moving on.
14
Dan. I never disagreed with you about that point. Of course eating well and moving your body is good for you. Who would argue with that? The problem is that YOU seem to equate fat with someone not eating well nor exercising. Which just perpetuates one of the last acceptable societal stereotypes. That all fat people are lazy (also dumb). Watch any popular media, or look at any subconscious prejudice studies and you will see this correlation. You are someone whose opinions many, including myself, listen to and often trust. And it's really sad that you help to perpetuate those stereotypes. I will continue to insist that fat acceptance and a stronger focus on health and not weight will yield an overall healthier country. Shame just drives people away from the gyms and makes them feel like they might as well give up. Since for so many, the ideal is so far removed from their actual reality. Everyone's body is naturally different. That should be ok.
16
Reading the article, tha magic number is 23.6" for thigh circumference.
I just did an Ironman, I'm 5'3.5" and my thighs are 22". My waist is 25", how on earth am I supposed to get thighs nearly as big as my waist? I don't starve myself, and I work out twice per day for my sports (except that now is the off season).
They had better qualify it based on height.
I just did an Ironman, I'm 5'3.5" and my thighs are 22". My waist is 25", how on earth am I supposed to get thighs nearly as big as my waist? I don't starve myself, and I work out twice per day for my sports (except that now is the off season).
They had better qualify it based on height.
17
We are all going to die? And, my solid (or some would say thick) dancer thighs will not save me? Damn. I want my money back, Thigh Master.
20
@ 19 There is hope. The study suggest that the amount of muscle mass is important.
"Researchers took detailed measurements and evaluated the body composition of 1,436 men and 1,380 women in Denmark, then tracked their health for more than a decade as part of a study conducted on behalf of the World Health Organization. People with the thinnest thighs had a two-fold greater risk of heart disease and death, and the risk rose as thigh size declined.
“The adverse effects of small thighs might be related to too little muscle mass,” which can affect fat and sugar metabolism, said researchers led by Berit Heitmann, director of research at Copenhagen University Hospital’s Institute of Preventive Medicine. “General practitioners could use thigh circumference as an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality.”
"Researchers took detailed measurements and evaluated the body composition of 1,436 men and 1,380 women in Denmark, then tracked their health for more than a decade as part of a study conducted on behalf of the World Health Organization. People with the thinnest thighs had a two-fold greater risk of heart disease and death, and the risk rose as thigh size declined.
“The adverse effects of small thighs might be related to too little muscle mass,” which can affect fat and sugar metabolism, said researchers led by Berit Heitmann, director of research at Copenhagen University Hospital’s Institute of Preventive Medicine. “General practitioners could use thigh circumference as an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality.”
22
Did anyone notice that they were evaluating people in *Denmark*?? I'm pretty sure there isn't the same kind of obesity epidemic there that there is in America. I'd be curious what results a similar random sampling of the US population would find. If anything, I'd bet we find a bell curve, here.
23
Many who are skinny are also malnourished, which this study isn't really designed to note. Diet, exercise and healthy body sizes are, like many things, a bell curve of moderation.
24
Maybe this helps explain why men are more likely to suffer from heart disease?
Good to have that nice, safe, stereotypical female shape.
Good to have that nice, safe, stereotypical female shape.
25
@24: As someone else already pointed out, cause and effect is not established by this study. It doesn't indicate that skinny legs are themselves a cause of heart disease, only that there is a higher correlation. Causal conclusions (either that more men die of heart disease because of typical body shape, or that more skinny-legged people die of heart disease because they tend to be men) are unfounded.
26
Given Lee and I have butted heads a few times, I feel compelled to note that I completely agree with his take in 25. One mistake the media makes in reporting many of these studies is implying their noted correlations as actual cause/effect with the titles and introductory body, even when the text below notes nothing more than a correlation.
28
This correlates well with what studies have found over and over and over again, that those who carry weight around their midsection instead of elsewhere tend to be less healthy. But, the muscle mass observation is IMPORTANT, and too many people are going to miss that. The quadriceps, gluteus maximus, and other muscles of the butt/upper leg area are some of the biggest muscles in the body, and many, many people are prone to putting on size there with exercise. But the truth is that putting on muscle in those areas is not necessarily pleasing to the eye in most clothes. As one commentor noted, we don't praise the thighs of dancers/figure skaters/other athletes enough, and that's probably because we don't see them in all their glory in normal, everyday street clothes. I wear pants to work with much regularity because they are simply easier (ugh, I didn't have time to shave THAT MORNING, or I didn't have time to apply self-tanner the night before and fix it that morning). It doesn't necessarily look good because I am rather muscle-bound in my lower body. But on the rare occasion I wear skirts to work (shows off the calf muscles and the curve of the knee) and on the even rarer occasion that my friends and co-workers see me in shorts, they see a whole different view of what's going on down there. Normal clothes are not conducive to seeing someone who's thick in their legs as really just very muscular, and, even if they were, that's not what our society values. Again, I find myself returning to our Olympic gymnastic team, and how the judges would prefer the long, lithe gymnast over the extremely muscular and more powerful one. Very few people value a woman who could kick you in the balls really hard over someone who looks like she's balancing on stilts. :)
30
wouldn't cardio strength to body weight ratio be most revealing? You've got overweight fat people with bad hearts, malnourished skinnies with bad hearts, and muscled heavyweights who never work cardio at the gym. The smaller groups are the muscled heavyweights with good hearts, skinny people with good hearts, and the rarest group of all, overweight people with good hearts (oxymoron?).
31
So, when a study agrees with your preconceived notion that all fatties are just lazy good for nothing morons who will DIE ANY SECOND NOW, it's pure science unassailable 100% correct and cannot possibly be questions.
But when a study indicates it might not be as simple as you'd like to think after all, suddenly it's questionable, it wasn't done right, it's in the wrong country, it was done using biased samples, etc etc etc.
Basically you're doing the same thing with science as the fundamentalists do with the bible -- you're picking the parts you like that show someone you think is "icky" and "disgusting" is a horrible evil bad person, while conveniently ignoring the parts that might make YOU out to be just as immoral, evil, horrible etc or which might interfere with your life in any way.
But when a study indicates it might not be as simple as you'd like to think after all, suddenly it's questionable, it wasn't done right, it's in the wrong country, it was done using biased samples, etc etc etc.
Basically you're doing the same thing with science as the fundamentalists do with the bible -- you're picking the parts you like that show someone you think is "icky" and "disgusting" is a horrible evil bad person, while conveniently ignoring the parts that might make YOU out to be just as immoral, evil, horrible etc or which might interfere with your life in any way.
32
@31: I believe you're confusing Dan with the commenters in this thread. If nothing else, Slog commenters have a range of opinions about every topic.
33
Some points of interest I saw in article were
While you can't spot burn fat, (When you lose fat, you lose it all over, not just one in specific part you are exercising.) you can spot build muscles. Your thighs and buttocks have some of the largest muscles in your body. Working and building them can burn some serious calories, and increase your over all metabolism and health. Larger muscles require more calories to work. Not that people should just work their thighs and nothing else.
“The adverse effects of small thighs might be related to too little muscle mass,” which can affect fat and sugar metabolism,...
While there are no known methods to specifically reduce stomach fat or waist size, thigh muscle mass increases with physical activity using the lower body, the researchers said.
While you can't spot burn fat, (When you lose fat, you lose it all over, not just one in specific part you are exercising.) you can spot build muscles. Your thighs and buttocks have some of the largest muscles in your body. Working and building them can burn some serious calories, and increase your over all metabolism and health. Larger muscles require more calories to work. Not that people should just work their thighs and nothing else.
34
What article are you referring to, Cory? I don't see a question mark in that linked article's title or in the first sentence.
37
Ah, crap, I think I missed something that was all about me. How embarrassing.
@27: I was ANSWERING your fucking QUESTION you IDIOT. To the tune of "no, this study doesn't indicate that having a wang causes heart disease."
As in, "maybe not?"
@26/34: My initial impression of you as the new WiS has been corrected. Because, you know, at the very least you actually seem to take the idea of public dialogue seriously. You were still wrong about Kalebu, but whatever. Shake?
@27: I was ANSWERING your fucking QUESTION you IDIOT. To the tune of "no, this study doesn't indicate that having a wang causes heart disease."
As in, "maybe not?"
@26/34: My initial impression of you as the new WiS has been corrected. Because, you know, at the very least you actually seem to take the idea of public dialogue seriously. You were still wrong about Kalebu, but whatever. Shake?
38
Wait, Dan said what?
And
"eat less and exercise more" ≠ skinny.
"eat less and exercise more" = healthier.
And I could have sworn he said something nice about Kate Harding a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what to think. My knee won't jerk.
And
"eat less and exercise more" ≠ skinny.
"eat less and exercise more" = healthier.
And I could have sworn he said something nice about Kate Harding a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what to think. My knee won't jerk.
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