Researchers at the Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen have found that women with wider hips appear to be protected against most heart conditions. According to the report published by BBC Online, women with a hip measurement smaller than 40 inches (size 14) would not have this protection. The researchers say hip fat contains a beneficial natural anti-inflammatory. According to the researchers, this anti-inflammatory, called adiponectin, prevents arteries from swelling up and becoming blocked.
The Danish researchers examined almost 3,000 men and women aged between 35 and 65 from 1987 to 1988. They measured height, weight and body mass index calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres. They then examined Danish health registers from the end of 1998 to see how many of the men and women had cardiovascular problems, and up to 2001 to see how many had died. Compared to the group of women with the smallest hip circumferences, women with the biggest were found to have an 87 percent reduction in deaths. The women also showed an 86 percent reduced risk of having coronary heart disease and a 46 percent reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to the researchers. 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 found a wider hip circumference was not linked with better heart health in men. The study’s chief, Professor Berit Heitmann, 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. Fat on hips is different from the fat on the abdomen. If you do not have enough of this fat, you may risk heart attacks.”