Obesity is a growing global health growing problem in all regions of the world, even among traditionally lean Asian populations. Obesity is when someone is so overweight that it is a threat to their health.
In today’s modern world with increasingly cheap, high calorie food, prepared foods that are high in things like salt, sugars or fat, combined with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, increasing urbanization and changing modes of transportation, it is no wonder that obesity has rapidly increased in the last few decades, around the world.
Researchers found that more than 60% of men and 50% of women are either overweight or obese.
“The study shows that excess body weight is pandemic, with one-half to two-thirds of the overall study population being overweight or obese,” researcher Beverley Balkau, PhD, of the French health service INSERM, says in a news release.
The fight obesity and work towards a healthier and fitter body has become a push recently, which is a response to the growing problem. In fact, it has been reported that approximately 1 in 3 American adults are considered to be overweight! As a society, we are storing pounds, but is this entirely a bad thing?
We are certainly not storing pounds and living an unhealthy lifestyle, but we have to clear it out that not all weight is bad. Experts say that you are healthier if you possess a pear-shaped body as opposed to an apple shopped body, as the location of the fat has been proven to be beneficial.
A 2010 study published by researchers at the University of Oxford and Churchill Hospital in the UK has discovered one significant benefit to carrying a little extra padding! Studying and analyzing data from approximately 16,000 women, the research team discovered a correlation between a little extra weight in the buttocks area and their highly intelligent descendants.
The fat located in the lower region of the body, around the bottoms, is referred to an excess adipose tissue. While a little extra fat in this area may be seen as a hassle or annoyance, experts say that it has been associated with a number of important health benefits including a lowered risk of diabetes, a barrier against heart disease, and a large number of other obesity-related illnesses.
In the ‘International Journal of Obesity,’ the researchers wrote: “The productive properties of the lower-body fat depot have been confirmed in many studies conducted in subjects with a wide range of age, BMI and co-morbidities.”
In addition to the health benefits associated with the excess weight, experts also recorded another important benefit – Women with a larger butt are statistically found to give birth to smarter children! Who knew?
From a solely physical standpoint, women with wider hips are said to be more adept to childbearing. This is further enhanced by the recent evidence suggesting that the fat content found in breast milk is, derived from these fat stores, providing babies with a healthy and reliable source of nutrition during their development years. This, in turn, leads to an increased level of brain development resulting in children who are intellectually superior to their peers.
Kostantinos Manologpoulous, lead researcher of the study explained, “The idea that body fat distribution is important to health has been known for some time. However, it is only very recently that thigh fat and a large hip circumference have been shown to promote health; that lower body fat is protective by itself.”
So, next time you are looking in the mirror at that ‘big butt,’ just remind yourself of all the great benefits!
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