Science Proves That Thick Thighs Do Indeed Save Lives — Transcript

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1. 0:00Here's some good news, finally. Thick
2. 0:02thighs do indeed save lives. Here's the
3. 0:04proof. A study published in the British
4. 0:06Medical Journal followed 3,000 adults
5. 0:08for 12 years, and a single measurement
6. 0:10that best predicted who would die early
7. 0:12from heart disease wasn't blood
8. 0:13pressure, cholesterol, or BMI. It was
9. 0:15thigh circumference. Specifically,
10. 0:17having small thighs was the problem. And
11. 0:19this finding held up after research was
12. 0:21controlled for belly fat, blood
13. 0:23pressure, smoking, and every other major
14. 0:24risk factor they could measure. And a
15. 0:26large meta-analysis pulling together
16. 0:27data from millions of people arrived at
17. 0:29the same conclusion independently. So,
18. 0:31what's actually happening? The instinct
19. 0:32is to assume that this is about fat
20. 0:34distribution. While there's some
21. 0:35evidence for that, it's not the main
22. 0:36story, and the main story is far more
23. 0:38interesting. Your thighs contain the
24. 0:40largest muscle group in your body. When
25. 0:42that muscle mass is high, your body is
26. 0:45able to clear glucose from your
27. 0:46bloodstream more efficiently after
28. 0:47meals, so your insulin resistance stays
29. 0:49low as does overall inflammation. In
30. 0:51other words, thicker thighs ultimately
31. 0:53help prevent cardiovascular disease.
32. 0:54But, here's where it gets genuinely
33. 0:56surprising. A study at King's College
34. 0:58London took over 300 pairs of identical
35. 1:01twins, so same genetic, same fundamental
36. 1:03biology, and measured their leg
37. 1:04strength, and then followed them for a
38. 1:06decade. The twin with greater leg
39. 1:08strength had measurably better memory
40. 1:10and faster cognitive function 10 years
41. 1:12later. Same genes, same childhood,
42. 1:14different legs, different brains. This
43. 1:16has become so validated [music] that low
44. 1:18muscle mass is now a formal surgical
45. 1:21risk factor. Because when your body
46. 1:23faces serious illness or major surgery,
47. 1:25it draws on muscle tissue for energy and
48. 1:27recovery. So, people with greater muscle
49. 1:29mass survive at a significantly higher
50. 1:31rates. Now, surgeons assess this before
51. 1:33major operations. It predicts outcomes
52. 1:35with uncomfortable accuracy. So, if
53. 1:37you're watching this and you're like, "I
54. 1:38ain't got no leg muscle." Here's what
55. 1:40actually builds and maintains lower body
56. 1:42muscle. Walking uphill, climbing stairs,
57. 1:44squats, resistance training of basically
58. 1:46any kind. And for anyone caring for an
59. 1:48aging parent, watch their legs. Loss of
60. 1:51lower body muscle is one of the earliest
61. 1:52observable signs of accelerated decline,
62. 1:54and one one most [clears throat]
63. 1:55reversible if caught early enough.
64. 1:57Resisted exercise works even in adults
65. 1:59in their 80s. This summer we want to see
66. 2:01all the thunder thighs saving lives. If
67. 2:03you like science we're sharing like
68. 2:04this, then follow us everywhere
69. 2:05@todayilearnedscience @tilscience.