A larger thigh may be associated with lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of heart disease in people with obesity, according to a result published by the organization “UK Information Is Beautiful”. They collect the information from a large population-based study of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and WHO and sum up the results in the table showing kinds of diseases.
And researches from Denmark and France also shows: From the view of health, a larger thigh is better than a slim thigh. A larger thigh can reduce the risk of early death, heart disease, and carotid plaque. This research lasted 13 years and involved 412 men and women showed that compared with people with a thigh circumference of 60cm, the mortality rate of people with less than 46cm increased threefold, and the risk of heart disease tripled. Those with a thigh circumference of more than 60cm and strong leg muscles have a significantly reduced risk of early death and heart disease.
Besides thigh, leg is also an important path to provide blood for the brain, according to a study of the French National Institute of Health and Medicine. Compared to the old man with the smallest leg, the old man with the largest leg has a 20% lower chance of carotid plaques. If the leg is larger equivalently, calf fat would be improved and store more fatty acid that can promote the blood circulation and to prevent carotid plaques.
As far as we know, high blood pressure is a major public health problem for over 1 billion people worldwide, which is also the main cause of death and disability. There are many factors increasing the risk of high blood pressure such as overweight, lack of exercise, smoking, and excessive salt in the diet. However, high blood pressure would lead to excessively tense heart and artery. Then fat would accumulate to limit blood flowing, and the risk of heart diseases would increase under these circumstances.
At the early stage, most people may not have the awareness that they are suffering high blood pressure cause there are fewer symptoms. So, it is very important to check if people have high blood pressure and do something to interfere positively to avoid more damages to blood vessels and heart.
Measurement of thigh circumference is a simple, low-cost but effective way to evaluate the risk of some diseases. Thigh circumference of 40~60cm and leg circumference less than 33cm is highly recommended regarding individual physical characteristics.
However, that doesn’t mean all the fat is useful. Most data shows that fat on the stomach would cause lots of lung and heart diseases, and overweight would also increase the risk of gallbladder diseases. But strong muscles on the core part of the whole body can reduce cancer risk.
In Conclusion
There are currently no studies that examine the potential of thigh circumference as an indicator of high blood pressure in people with obesity. Dr. Zhen Yang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine investigated the association between thigh circumference and blood pressure in a population of 9,250 Chinese men and women aged 40 or older, of which 5,348 were overweight and obese, and 4,172 were normal weight. A significant link between larger thigh circumference (more than 55cm in men and 54cm in women) and lower prevalence of high blood pressure was observed consistently in both men and women, independently of age, body mass index, and waist circumference. Whereas those with a small thigh circumference (less than 50cm for women and 51cm for men) were more likely to have elevated blood pressure.
But this study result may not apply to other people with different thigh circumferences. More researches will be needed to check this link, which may help find therapeutic schedules of diseases.
