Thunder Thighs: Good for You?

One more reason to stop stressing about your thighs and your butt: Fat there isn't as dangerous for you as the stuff that accumulates in your belly.

One study even suggests that the padding that gives you a pear shape actually helps decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We won't go quite so far as to say that it protects you. Being overweight, no matter where you carry it, still puts stress on your joints -- and your attitude, if you let it. But what these researchers say is that fat below the waist "appears to be more passive" (a fact anyone who's tried to get rid of it already knows).

And what that means to scientists who are looking at more than your mirror is that the belly fat we keep warning you about doesn't just sit there; it induces health-wrecking inflammation and chemicals that may be involved in insulin resistance. Fat in the thighs and butt is somewhat different to begin with and may contain itself better, so it doesn't wreak havoc with the rest of the body (even if you'd rather not contend with it in your mirror). But it's still not ideal to have it hanging around in excess. And sorry -- leg lifts or “butt blasting” workouts won't magically remove fat from these areas. But they will help you build muscle strength and burn calories overall, so you can look and feel even better in those sexy slacks that have gotten a little snug.