discussion title: Thicker Thighs Equal a Longer Life?
This seems sort of simplistic, but maybe there's something to it:
"According to a new study, thin thighs may put you at risk for heart disease and even death. That's right, model thighs are out and...curvy thighs are a model of health. The study, published in the September online issue of BMJ, found that both men and women with a thigh circumference under 60 cm or about 24 inches were more likely to have coronary heart disease and premature death. Now we’ve all heard that having a pear shape is healthier than an apple shape, but this study only focused on thigh measurements. This means that having thin thighs can be a health risk no matter what your actual shape is."
Read the full blog post: Thicker Thighs Equal a Longer Life.
What are your views?
re: Thicker Thighs Equal a Longer Life?message #: 3130.2 in response to 3130.1
Well, after I measured my thighs and discovered that I'm supposedly in a higher risk category for dying of coronary heart disease, in spite of having very muscled thighs that measure 50, not 60cms, I decided that I should have chocolate cake for breakfast and damn the consequences. J/K
Having read the article in BMJ, I feel the statement that "The study, published in the September online issue of BMJ, found that both men and women with a thigh circumference under 60 cm or about 24 inches were more likely to have coronary heart disease and premature death." is somewhat misleading. The following is from the BMJ's article:Setting Random subset of adults in Denmark.
Participants 1436 men and 1380 women participating in the Danish MONICA project, examined in 1987-8 for height, weight, and thigh, hip, and waist circumference, and body composition by impedance.
A study of this nature takes into account more than just the measurement of the circumference of the thighs, and perhaps given that it was taken in Denmark, we could have been informed of the average height and weight of the participants as well, before making the assumption that 60cms is the key measurement. For my height and body type, my thighs are anything but thin at 50cms, they are firmly muscled from many years of cycling, walking and swimming, I don't smoke, I haven't any history of coronary heart disease in my family, I am in good health, so I am not going to worry, or try and bulk up my thighs. If you read the BMJ article and take a look at some of the letters, they are quite enlightening as well. I quote from the first letter "This is not a comment on the study but on BMJ's promotion of its publication, sent to journalists around the world.
It was misleading and erroneous.
The title of the news release: "Large thighs protect against heart disease and early death."
The news release did not mention the limitations of such a study and did not mention the fact that association does not equal causation.
So it is inaccurate and misleading to talk about "protection" from anything when you haven't established a causal link."
Gary Schwitzer
Publisher, HealthNewsReview.org
Associate Professor, Univ. of Minnesota School of Journalism
The senior editor of the BMJ replied to Mr. Schwitzer:Gary J. Schwitzer criticises the BMJ's press release for this paper. He's right to say that the title went beyond the paper in using the word "protect", and I apologise for that. But I think the rest of the release was accurate and helpful.
Readers wanting to judge the press release for themselves will find it here http://www.bmj.com/content/vol339/issue7720/press_release.dtl
Like all our press releases, this included one of the authors' contact details and gave a link to the embargoed paper, so that journalists could assess the full details of the study including a discussion of its strengths and limitations (our policy on media releases is at http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/media).
Furthermore, the press release did acknowledge that the findings weren't definitive, clearly stating: "The authors conclude that the study 'found that the risk of having small thighs was associated with development of cardiovascular morbidity and early mortality. This increased risk was found independent of abdominal and general obesity, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and lipids related to early cardiovascular morbidity and mortality'...The authors believe that doctors could use thigh size as an early marker for at risk patients and suggest that individuals increase lower body exercise in order to increase the size of their thighs if necessary. Further research would be needed, however, to assess whether this approach was worthwhile... An accompanying editorial supports the need for more research to test the strength of this association".
Trish Groves,
deputy editor
BMJI think a key element is the statement that the press release acknowledges the findings aren't definitive, and that the authors of the study believe that doctors could use thigh size as an early marker for at risk patients. Of course they believe that, since they are standing behind their findings, but as Mr. Schwitzer stated, "The news release did not mention the limitations of such a study and did not mention the fact that association does not equal causation.
So it is inaccurate and misleading to talk about "protection" from anything when you haven't established a causal link."I think that his words are to be taken seriously when reading headlines of this nature, as they are what grab people's attention. In the case of this article, there is far more to it than just the circumference of one's thighs, yet that is what is focused on.
Prospero:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158
re: Thicker Thighs Equal a Longer Life?message #: 3130.3 in response to 3130.2
As I said, my initial reaction was that it seemed somewhat simplistic. And the recommendation to bulk up with leg exercises in order to ward off heart disease extrapolates much more from the study than was intended. The study merely looked at the mortality rate in relation to thigh measurement and suggested a possible correlation; it did not determine nor even examine what effect increasing thigh circumference through exercise might have, if any. I don't think people should necessarily start hitting the leg press machine every day in hopes of preventing a heart attack -- and I don't believe my just-barely 60 cm thighs put me at lower risk for heart disease than you.
Your comments about the article and press release are well taken, but would lead us in an entirely different direction, to a critique of the state of media in society today. That discussion could go on for a very long time.
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