Beyonce is known for her curvy figure
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Good news for all bottom-heavy ladies out there, new research from Oxford University has shown that it is shape, not weight, which affects a woman’s health.
This shape has long been celebrated on the curvaceous figures of celebrities such as Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez, but this new evidence proves that carrying extra weight on your hips, bums and thighs is actually good for you, protecting against killers such as heart disease, metabolic problems and diabetes.
Fat from these areas may be notoriously difficult to shift, but far from being undesirable, this is actually beneficial. When fat is broken down quickly, it releases a lot of cytokines, which trigger inflammation in the body. Hip fat not only mops up harmful fatty acids, but it also contains an anti-inflammatory agent that stops arteries clogging. This slower burning hip fat also makes more of the hormone adiponectin that protects the arteries and promotes better blood sugar control and fat burning. In fact, the researchers say that too little fat around the hips can actually lead to serious metabolic problems, such as those which occur in Cushing’s syndrome.
Lead researcher Dr Konstantinos Manolopoulos informs us that ideally, the more fat around the thighs the better-as long as the stomach stays slim. He said that it is ‘shape that matters, and where the fat gathers. Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad.’ So although hip fat may help maintain health, beware of carrying too much around the stomach, which raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Fotini Rozakeas of the British Heart Foundation has backed this up, saying that ‘if you are overweight, obese, or if you have a waist size that is increased, it is important to make changes to your lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet and doing regular physical activity, to reduce your risk of heart health problems’.
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