It’s hip to keep abreast of the latest medical news which suggests Haagen Daz may be good for your (female) health. The BBC reports:
Curvy women are more likely to live longer than their slimmer counterparts, researchers have found.
Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen researchers found those with wider hips also appeared to be protected against heart conditions.
Women with a hip measurement smaller than 40 inches, or a size 14 would not have this protection, they said.
The researchers say hip fat contains a beneficial natural anti-inflammatory.
So they were right in the 1960s: hippies DO live longer. MORE:
They said this anti-inflammatory, called adiponectin, prevents arteries swelling up and becoming blocked.
Rats! It isn’t good news for men:
Previous studies have found both men and women with small hips are at an increased risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and gall bladder disease.
However the study, which has been published in Obesity Research, found a wider hip circumference was not linked with better heart health in men…
Does this mean ladies are now advised to camp out a Pizza Hut. NO…since there is another problem:
Professor Berit Heitmann, who led the study, said: “It seems that the protection is not a matter of wide hips, it’s the detrimental effect of narrow hips with a lack of muscle fat, or bone or a combination of both.
She added: “Fat on hips is different than fat on the abdomen. If you do not have enough of this fat you may risk heart attacks.”
Carrying excess fat around the stomach, being ‘apple shaped’, is already known to be potentially damaging to health. Fat cells in this part of the body pump out chemicals that can damage the insulin system, raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Belinda Linden, of the British Heart Foundation said: “It has been widely reported that if you are apple-shaped, your risk of developing cardiovascular disease is likely to be greater than if you are pear-shaped. “This study provides additional evidence of the association between hip circumference and cardiovascular protection among women.”
But she added: “It is important to consider both your body weight and shape in tandem. Controlling both by eating less and being more active is the best way to reduce your risk of heart and circulatory disease.”
Darn! They had to take all of the fun-potential out of this finding by adding that…
PS: They didn’t say anything about my kind of body — a watermelon shaped body. Is it healthy?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.