For centuries men have struggled to answer the ‘one’ question that pops up during every shopping trip with their wives or girlfriend – ‘Does my bum look fat in this?’ The dilemma stems from the fact that if they answer in positive, they run the risk of being called heartless and indifferent, similarly if they answer in negative they are branded as liars or smooth talkers. Poor men! It is hard not to sympathize with them on this one.
Women should really not hate their big derrieres!
Ever seen the Renaissance Era paintings, the paintings depicted plump women with generous backsides, sadly big bums soon went out of fashion and are now replaced with the trend of narrow behinds in women. But did you know that having a large behind is quite healthy! Surprised? Don’t be, as now research has proven that women who have a bit of fat on their hips and thighs are less prone to developing diabetes and heart diseases as compared to their ‘less endowed on the behind’ counterparts.
A study conducted by a team of scientists at Oxford has found out that carrying a bit of extra weight or fat around your hips, bum and thighs is actually quite healthy, as it protects you from heart and metabolic problems. All the more reasons to love your big behind!
Why the ‘junk in the trunk’ is healthy?
Think of big bums and the image of Jenifer Lopez is bound to pop up in your mind. One of the major reasons for her rise to, there are rumors of Ms. Lopez having insured her famous behind for a whooping 1 million dollars! Sure her curves are enviable, but with recent research they are healthy too.
To begin with, women have two primary types of body types – Apple type and Pear Type. The Apple type body sees the fat distribution to be concentrated in the upper abdominal region while the pear type sees the fat distribution in lower abdominal region i.e the hips, bums and the thighs.
Fat in the upper abdomen region spells trouble as it is associated with heart problems and diabetes, while fat in the lower abdomen region has been proven to protect women from type-2 diabetes, heart diseases and a host of other such diseases!
How is the fat on the bums healthy?
Fat found around your hips, bums and thighs is healthy because:
- Acid Trap: Lower body fat traps fatty acids. If these acids are not trapped by your bums, they get trapped or stored in your other organs such as arteries or liver which gives rise to diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases.
- Hormone Production: The lower body fat which is responsible for your ‘big bums’ produces beneficial hormone known as Adiponectin, this hormone is known to protect your arteries, control your blood sugar by resisting insulin and also promote a better burning of fat.
- Intelligent Children: While larger hips in women are generally known to point towards a woman’s good child carrying capacity, the hip fat is known to contain polyunsaturated fatty acids which help in the better brain development of the fetus, as compared to their narrow bottomed counterparts. In short, women with more hip fat will give birth to intelligent children!
Ever wondered why the fat around your hips and thighs is harder to lose than the fat around your waist?
It’s simply because, the fat around the hips and thighs burns slowly and is harder to shift as compared to the fat around the waist that easily breaks down. It is this easily breaking fat that is responsible for the release of cytokines, which are responsible for triggering inflammations in our bodies leading to clogging up of arteries which in turn cause heart diseases along with diabetes due to insulin resistance!
With such a high level of discrepancies between the lower abdomen and upper abdomen fat structure, scientists are trying to seek ways in which fat distribution can be concentrated more on the hip area to promote the health benefits that are offered by the ‘mostly hated fats’.
Even Research backs those big hips
Researchers also add that it is the shape of fat that matters along with where it gathers in one’s body which dictates the heath levels of the individual. In a study conducted by Danish researchers on a group of 3000 men and women, it was found that women with bigger hip circumferences had an astonishing 87% lesser mortality rate than those with narrow hip circumferences. Similarly those with larger behinds saw a 86% reduction in their chances of suffering from coronary heart diseases and a 46% reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Remarkable figures aren’t they?
So now that you know the health secret behind big bums, the next time you find yourself struggling to squeeze yourself into that pair of jeans, don’t fret and instead rejoice!
