Getting behind your fat

Ladies, ever wonder why no matter how hard you work out, you just can’t get rid of that extra layer of chunk on your thighs and butt? Well get this: that stubborn subcutaneous fat might actually be a good thing!

A new study conducted by Harvard Medical School and appearing in Cell Metabolism, has found that body fat located under the skin – like on the buttocks – may actually help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. Cookie anyone?

The study compared subcutaneous fat with visceral fat. Visceral fat surrounds internal organs and can be very detrimental to your health. Unlike this harmful fat, it’s believed that subcutaneous fat might produce hormones called adipokines, which actually boost the metabolism.

According to Dr. David Haslam of the National Obesity Forum in the UK, these findings create some new questions regarding how accurate the popular Body Mass Index (BMI) is for assessing health. Since BMI does not distinguish between these different fats, it might be falsely gauging people’s health.

Women stand to benefit most from this new report, since they typically have more subcutaneous fat than men. While it’s still extremely important to eat well and exercise, looks like we don’t have to feel so bad about the extra pudginess that seems to have permanently set up camp back there… Yay!

The bottom line (no pun intended) is that we’ve pretty much all got issues with our bums… right ladies? So tell us! Does this report make you feel better about your behind?