Why big thighs can help you live longer

Caroline_ie

Wohoooo!!!!!! I shall continue cycling so

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Men and women with large thighs have a lower risk of premature death and heart disease, a 12-year study shows.

People whose thighs measure at least 23.6in (60cm) in circumference were less likely to develop heart disease or die early, according to the study of almost 3000 men and women.

Professor Berit Heitmann said thigh size could be used by GPs as "an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality".

"A small thigh circumference was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases and total mortality in both men and women," he said. "A threshold effect for thigh circumference was evident, with greatly increased risk of premature death below around 60cm. The fact more than half of the men and women aged 35 to 65 have thigh circumference below the threshold is worrying."

The Monica (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease) project, carried out in Denmark and published online today on bmj.com, found there was no added protective effect for people with thighs in excess of 60cm.

Body fat and other high risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol were taken into account by the study.

Beasty

Fantastic!!

I think mine are around 70cm:)

doubtfir3

I guess I'd better ring the cremation guys and warn them of my impending arrival... mine are only 22"

Seriously though, I've often thought about stuff like this... a study says drinking tea can save you from cancer.. cue phonecall from my mother telling me to suck back tea like there's no tomorrow..

A couple of weeks later, a phonecall from my mother to say stop drinking tea.. some other guy's after saying drinking tea causes cancer!

Lumen

As I recall, central body obesity is a big risk factor for the apple people. The pear people (with their fatter thighs) would therefore have relatively less risk for the same body fat %, excluding factors like muscle mass, exercise etc.

Ghost Rider

Ironic that the project is named after the skinniest character in "Friends". (Or maybe I just watch too much TV...)

Caroline_ie wrote: »

The Monica (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease) project, carried out in Denmark and published online today on bmj.com, found...

ROK ON

Beasty wrote: »

Fantastic!!

I think mine are around 70cm:)

Wimp.

73cm FTW.

DJsail

Thats great news and not just an excuse to eat more cake, but any suggestions on how to move my unhealthy apple down a few inches to make a healthy pear?

ednwireland

61 cm woo hoo (do 46cm calves count ? my physio reckons they are huge)

Caroline_ie

well i assume it's relative to your own size - at 5' nothing i am glad I dont have 60+cm thighs ...

Lumen

56cm.

Well, you have to die of something.

I should ride my bike more.

DJsail

Judging by all the subsequent measurements I'm glad I'm not the only one who's pulled out a measuring tape form the desk this morning! God bless yahoo's ability to distract us from work

peterako

ROK ON wrote: »

Wimp.

73cm FTW.

I feel inadequate.... 69cm.....

peterako

DJsail wrote: »

Judging by all the subsequent measurements I'm glad I'm not the only one who's pulled out a measuring tape form the desk this morning! God bless yahoo's ability to distract us from work

At least I work from home....

I can just imagine the reactions from fellow workers if you're working in an open plan office :eek:

ROK ON

peterako wrote: »

I feel inadequate.... 69cm.....

You are.

Feel the power. I have always loved my thighs, now I love them slightly more.

Chips Lovell

Is this not a case of coincidence? i.e. if someone has big thighs it is more likely that they exercise a lot and therefore more likely they live longer?

Chips Lovell

And not to go too far off topic, but has anyone else found that their thighs are beginning to create serious problems in the pants shopping arenea.

ROK ON

el tonto wrote: »

Is this not a case of coincidence? i.e. if someone has big thighs it is more likely that they exercise a lot and therefore more likely they live longer?

Maybe, but I like tho think that I was choosen as a sort of superhuman, with amazing thigh like powers. Its a form of natural selection surely.

ROK ON

el tonto wrote: »

And not to go too far off topic, but has anyone else found that their thighs are beginning to create serious problems in the pants shopping arenea.

I have gone from the unusual situation where my boxers are getting too loose at the waist and to tight at the thighs.

DJsail

peterako wrote: »

At least I work from home....

I can just imagine the reactions from fellow workers if you're working in an open plan office :eek:

Well there's now a competition to see who has the fattest healthiest thighs, crap not gonna win this one either:(

Lumen

Turkeys have big thighs, and they don't live very long.

Tortoises have tiny thighs, and can live for over a hundred years.

I rest my case.

Nietzschean

el tonto wrote: »

Is this not a case of coincidence? i.e. if someone has big thighs it is more likely that they exercise a lot and therefore more likely they live longer?

Would depend on the study i suppose, people can carry a lot of fat in their thighs and not necessarily be quite fit....(my thighs have gotten significantly smaller in the last year)

Ghost Rider

Considering how widespread obesity is here, and based on my own observations, I'd guess that the majority of members of the "larger-thighed community" in this country are relatively unfit.

el tonto wrote: »

Is this not a case of coincidence? i.e. if someone has big thighs it is more likely that they exercise a lot and therefore more likely they live longer?

Chips Lovell

ROK ON wrote: »

I have gone from the unusual situation where my boxers are getting too loose at the waist and to tight at the thighs.

Yep, it was a recent purchase of some boxers that really highlighted that to me, not to mention some interesting jeans buying experiences.

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

Turkeys have big thighs, and they don't live very long.

Tortoises have tiny thighs, and can live for over a hundred years.

I rest my case.

Bullsh1t. The thigh of a tortoise is almost the same size as its calf. Consequently, the proportional thigh size for a tortoise is pretty impressive.

peterako

Nietzschean wrote: »

Would depend on the study i suppose, people can carry a lot of fat in their thighs and not necessarily be quite fit....(my thighs have gotten significantly smaller in the last year)

Joking aside.....

This is totally true.

Body structure (bone size, muscle attachment points, length of limbs, width of pelvis etc) will be big determining factors in muscle girths as will physical excercise.

I have friends with much bigger thighs than me who squat 90kg for reps (in the gym).

I squat 230kg for 10. (not a boast, just a comparison)

Like any study a pinch of salt is needed.

Can any ONE factor/measuremnt really be a definitive indicator of longivity???

Peter (also have the waist/thigh dilema...with trousers/jeans/boxers...)

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

The thigh of a tortoise is almost the same size as its calf. Consequently, the proportional thigh size for a tortoise is pretty impressive.

Please leave cattle out of this.

Besides which, if your thighs were the same size as your calves, I would not call them impressive.

boredatwork82

27 ins - I'm a gonna live forever!

ednwireland

Ghost Rider wrote: »

Considering how widespread obesity is here, and based on my own observations, I'd guess that the majority of members of the "larger-thighed community" in this country are relatively unfit.

damn found out !

alfalad

el tonto wrote: »

And not to go too far off topic, but has anyone else found that their thighs are beginning to create serious problems in the pants shopping arenea.

I've had this issue for a long time up until last year was always very active with football or in the gym and even to get a pair of suit trousers to fit is an issue. I always have to go up to 36 inch even though my actual waist would be 33.
It is a burden of being healthy!

petethedrummer

boredatwork82 wrote: »

27 ins - I'm a gonna live forever!

I'm gonna learn how to fly......HIGH!!!

Raam

el tonto wrote: »

And not to go too far off topic, but has anyone else found that their thighs are beginning to create serious problems in the pants shopping arenea.

No

shaungil

Can't sit idly by on this.

80 cm.

At last years of abuse over my pear shaped body and large butt including Par 5 (biggest hole on the course) I have something to boast about. Lumen defo agree re Pear and Apple thing my missus a nutritionist has raved about this before something about fat ovewr vital organs or something.

Don't get me started on the jeans thing, Levis are a total sham of a company. Raam I've seen picture of you reclining on a sofa you are somewhat out of your element here.

Vélo

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Wohoooo!!!!!! I shall continue cycling so

---

Men and women with large thighs have a lower risk of premature death and heart disease, a 12-year study shows.

People whose thighs measure at least 23.6in (60cm) in circumference were less likely to develop heart disease or die early, according to the study of almost 3000 men and women.

Professor Berit Heitmann said thigh size could be used by GPs as "an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality".

"A small thigh circumference was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases and total mortality in both men and women," he said. "A threshold effect for thigh circumference was evident, with greatly increased risk of premature death below around 60cm. The fact more than half of the men and women aged 35 to 65 have thigh circumference below the threshold is worrying."

The Monica (monitoring trends in and determinants of cardiovascular disease) project, carried out in Denmark and published online today on bmj.com, found there was no added protective effect for people with thighs in excess of 60cm.

Body fat and other high risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol were taken into account by the study.

Well that's me ******!!!!

FrankGrimes

Thighs? What are thighs? All I gots is two massive pistons attached to my hips! :P

What's the protocol for measuring one's thighs - widest point? muscle flexed, leg straight or bent?

bcmf

I can imagine the look of many office workers around the country as men head off to the toilets with measure tape in hand.

Vélo

bcmf wrote: »

I can imagine the look of many office workers around the country as men head off to the toilets with measure tape in hand.

I just one of the girls in the office to do it for me!

No, no a little higher, higher.........that's it!! (Good girl yourself)

bcmf

Vélo wrote: »

I just one of the girls in the office to do it for me!

No, no a little higher, higher.........that's it!! (Good girl yourself)

For some reason the image of David Brent came to mind when I read that post.

Anyway 60cm thighs and 42cm calfs

shaungil

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thighs? What are thighs? All I gots is two massive pistons attached to my hips! :P

What's the protocol for measuring one's thighs - widest point? muscle flexed, leg straight or bent?

I always thought they were called Leg Guns.

Chips Lovell

It's just the one thigh I have to measure, right?

Vélo

el tonto wrote: »

It's just the one thigh I have to measure, right?

The middle one!

DirkVoodoo

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thighs? What are thighs? All I gots is two massive pistons attached to my hips! :P

What's the protocol for measuring one's thighs - widest point? muscle flexed, leg straight or bent?

Just below the crease made by the butt.

It should be noted that this is not an independent measurement, so having massive thighs BUT also a massive waist does not mean you are less likely to develop cardiovascular problems.

I don't know why these media publications don't link to the original study so we can see the results and testing methods for ourselves, like Ben Goldacre says, any study where you tell people you are going to be looking at their risk of cardiovascular disease over a 12 year period, you will alter the results immediately because people will become more conscious about health and exercise.

Beasty

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Just below the crease made by the butt.

But it's only the right one that counts, according to the report:):

"measured in centimetres directly below the gluteal fold of the right thigh"

FrankGrimes

Beasty wrote: »

"gluteal fold"

hehe, 'gluteal fold' hehehe....


66cm for me so and I take 34" trousers so can't wait till my nineties! What's the current record for oldest person ever to do the Wicklow 200?

Caroline_ie

Chris Hoy wrote:

"My thighs are now 68cm - almost 27 inches - in circumference. That's the biggest they've ever been."

here



He will live forever ...

Lumen

Just to be clear then, no-one has any excuses for thighs bigger than 68cms, regardless of claimed sprinting ability.

Thigh circumference - 68 = cake.

peterako

Caroline_ie wrote: »

here



He will live forever ...

I'm guessing they're talking about a similar measurement to the one referred to in this thread.

Thus Hoy has a 28 1/4 inch thigh (just under 72cm).
(Remember: he's a 'shorty' so his legs are proportionally HUGE....but nothing compared to Pure Power athletes)

Peter....

DirkVoodoo

Measured from the wrong place, I would say they are far bigger when you take into account the massive hamstrings.

Beasty

Beasty wrote: »

I think mine are around 70cm:)

Just re-measured (stupidly did the left one this morning), and mine is actually 68cm:)

DirkVoodoo

Mine were a paltry 55cm. Maybe I should go ride the bike, have a hot shower and re-measure.

Beasty

peterako wrote: »

I'm guessing they're talking about a similar measurement to the one referred to in this thread.

Thus Hoy has a 28 1/4 inch thigh (just under 72cm).
(Remember: he's a 'shorty' so his legs are proportionally HUGE....but nothing compared to Pure Power athletes)

Peter....

Don't think he's particularly short (just over 6' 1").

peterako

Beasty wrote: »

Don't think he's particularly short (just over 6' 1").

Ooops....

Same as me then.....with slightly bigger thighs

(Ok...He's 1cm taller )