Short thighs linked to greater likelihood of diabetes
People with short upper legs are more likely to have glucose intolerance or diabetes, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. The study seems to support the hypothesis that factors influencing growth in the womb and during childhood may contribute to the development of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes, says Keiko Asao, M.D., M.P.H., and a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Impaired glucose tolerance is also called insulin resistance. It’s a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot efficiently turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy.