Study: Women with skinny thighs more likely to have heart attacks

New research out of Denmark suggests that women whose upper legs are less than 23.6 in (60 cm) around have a higher risk of coronary disease and early death, the Daily Mail reports. The 11-year study found that too little muscle mass can lead to Type 2 diabetes and heart failure, says professor Berit Heitmann of Copenhagen University Hospital, who notes the added risk was independent of obesity and other lifestyle factors and applied to men as well. He added that the findings need “further confirmation before the results can be generalized.” The British Heart Foundation is dismissive of the study, however, with the charity’s senior cardiac nurse, Judy O’Sullivan, responding that there’s “insufficient evidence to confirm that a low thigh circumference affects a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” though she did agree that “low muscle mass is associated with low levels of physical activity, which is an established risk factor for developing heart disease.”

Daily Mail