The Medical Benefits of Having a Big Booty

Your big bottom could be saving your life--by protecting you against diabetes. One more reason for rappers and fat-bottomed girls alike to sing the praises of a well-padded derriere.

It has long been suspected that carrying excess weight around the belly is a potential health hazard. Meanwhile, those who carry their girth below the belt have been told that they are at a lower risk for developing heart disease and other health problems. As it turns out, all the talk of pear-shaped versus apple-shaped bodies may in fact be true.

U.S. researchers announced Tuesday that subcutaneous fat, a specific type of fat known for collecting around the hips and hindquarters, may in fact be able to help protect women's bodies from diabetes.

Mice that had subcutaneous fat transplanted into their belly area showed significant weight reduction in a matter of weeks. The mice were found to have not only lost weight, but to have experienced a reduction in the size of their fat cells, despite having not changed their diet or exercise patterns.

Dr. Ronald Kahn of Harvard Medical School in Boston called the results of this study "surprising." His initial objective with the study was to determine why various fat deposits in the body carry different risks for metabolic disorders and diseases.

The mice studied by Kahn and his colleagues had subcutaneous fat from donor mice transplanted into their bellies as well as under the skin. While both transplant areas yielded some improvement in metabolic processes, the mice with the belly transplants demonstrated blood sugar and insulin levels that were improved.

Kahn believes that the results of this experiment are important for indicating that not only is all fat not bad, it may in fact contain substances that can be used in the future to develop drugs that can regulate or prevent metabolic diseases.

So, ladies, be proud of those thunder thighs, saddle bags, and junk in the trunk. They just might be holding the future cure for metabolic diseases. If that doesn't make you want to shake your moneymaker, I don't know what will!