Can "cankles" actually be good for you?

1 ANSWERS

1. Brett
   

   Maybe. Scientists haven't studied the significance of ankle shape, but other research on fat distribution may point to an answer. Ankles that have lost a bit of definition over the years and appear to merge with the calf (hence the hybrid word) might actually improve your health profile, as long as you're not seriously overweight. Fat stored in the intra-abdominal region—in and around the organs—correlates highly with metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes; fat in the legs is least linked with these maladies. Wendy Kohrt, Ph.D., professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver, found that postmenopausal women who had a relatively high level of leg fat (as opposed to abdominal fat) had lower risks of heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Leg fat, she explains, may protect postmenopausal women by drawing triglycerides out of the bloodstream, where they constitute a risk factor, and into fat deposits in the legs and, possibly, cankles. Her findings suggest that removing lower-body fat cells—by liposuction, say—may not be a good idea: Women who do may begin to add weight to fat cells in the more dangerous midriff zone, she suspects.

   Report (0) (0)  |   12 years, 7 month(s) ago