Is a large bottom healthy?

Recent headlines:

"Obesity study shows big bottoms and thighs can be healthy"  USA Today

" Junk in the trunk could be good for the heart"  Toronto Star

"Having a big bum, hips and thighs is healthy" BBC News

A new study suggests that body fat in the buttocks and thighs may actually be beneficial!  It is surprising but not an entirely novel idea.  Scientists have often talked about "apples" and "pears" in reference to the fact that belly fat presents significant metabolic risks. But before you get swept away in the hysteria and start reaching for the ice cream, let's get some expert reaction.

"If you're going to have fat, you're definitely better off if you've got some fat in the lower body," Dr. Michael Jensen, director of endocrine research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

"I think that the article makes a fairly compelling point that there are likely differences between these two fat stores... But I think it certainly falls short in making a convincing argument that one is protective and the other is the major source of the problem." Floyd Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.   (source ABC news)

Nobody is saying that butt fat is good for you.  They're saying that butt fat acts differently than belly fat and may be "not as bad."  The implications that butt fat is "good" for you is based on a narrow view of only 1 or 2 variables and does not compare people with butt fat to thin, healthy populations. 

The research article states, " Finally, loss of gluteofemoral fat, as observed in Cushing's syndrome and lipodystrophy is associated with an increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk."

But for those of you who do not have Cushing's syndrome or lipodystrophy, I would encourage you to reduce body fat wherever it is located.