Large Thighs Protect against Heart Disease and Early Death

Men and women whose thighs are less than 60 cm in circumference have a higher risk of premature death and heart disease, according to a new study.

Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital (Denmark) conducted a prospective observational cohort study of a random subset of 1,436 men and 1,380 women that were originally examined in the 1987-1988 MONICA study for height, weight, and thigh, hip, and waist circumference, and body composition by impedance. Main outcome measures were the 10-year follow-up incidence of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease and the 12.5 years of follow-up for total death. During the follow-up period, 257 men and 155 women died, 263 men and 140 women experienced cardiovascular disease, and 103 men and 34 women suffered from heart disease.

The study results showed that an increased risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases and total mortality was associated with narrower thighs in both men and women. A threshold effect for thigh circumference was evident, with greatly increased risk of premature death below 60 cm; above this threshold, there seemed to be no additional benefit of having thickset thighs in either sex. The findings were independent of abdominal and general obesity, lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and lipid concentration. The authors hypothesized that the risk could be associated with too little muscle mass in narrow thighs, possibly leading to low insulin sensitivity, type 2 diabetes and in the long run, heart disease. The study was published in the September 3, 2009, issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

"The risk of having small thighs was associated with development of cardiovascular morbidity and early mortality," concluded study presenter and lead author Prof. Berit Heitmann, Ph.D., and colleagues of the Institute of Preventive Medicine. "This increased risk was found independent of abdominal and general obesity, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and lipids related to early cardiovascular morbidity and mortality."

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