Big bum and thighs are healthy 大臀與粗腿是健康的

◎國際新聞中心

Carrying extra weight on your hips, bum and thighs is good for your health, protecting against heart and metabolic problems, UK experts have said.

英國專家表示，臀部與大腿比較胖，可以預防心臟與代謝問題，有利你的健康。

Hip fat mops up harmful fatty acids and contains an anti-inflammatory agent that stops arteries clogging, they say. Big behinds are preferable to extra fat around the waistline, which gives no such protection, the Oxford team said.

專家說，臀部的脂肪會抹去有害的脂肪酸，還含有阻止動脈堵塞的抗發炎劑。牛津團隊說，大屁股比腰圍有多餘脂肪來得好，粗腰不會提供這樣的保護。

Science could look to deliberately increase hip fat, they told the International Journal of Obesity. And in the future, doctors might prescribe ways to redistribute body fat to the hips to protect against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

他們告訴國際肥胖期刊，科學可以研究刻意增加臀部脂肪，未來醫師或許可以指定療法，把脂肪重新分散到臀部上，來避免糖尿病等心血管與代謝疾病。

The researchers said having too little fat around the hips can lead to serious metabolic problems, as occurs in Cushing’s syndrome.

研究人員說，臀部脂肪太少可能導致嚴重的代謝問題，就像庫欣氏症的情況一樣。

Evidence shows that fat around the thighs and backside is harder to shift than fat around the waist. Although this may sound undesirable, it is actually beneficial because when fat is broken down quickly it releases a lot of cytokines which trigger inflammation in the body, say experts. These cytokines have been linked to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes.

證據顯示，大腿周邊以及臀部的脂肪，比腰部的脂肪難轉移，專家說，雖然這種脂肪可能不受歡迎，不過它其實是有好處的，因為脂肪迅速分解時，會釋放很多促使身體發炎的細胞介素，這些細胞介素會引起心血管疾病、胰島素抗性與糖尿病。

新聞辭典

mop up：動詞片語，把某樣東西用完。例句：Buying clothes for the kids usually mops up any spare money I have at the end of the month.（為小孩買衣服通常會把我月底剩的錢花光。）

clog：動詞，阻塞。例句：Eating too much fat causes your arteries to clog（up）.（吃太多脂肪會讓動脈阻塞。）

behind：名詞，指屁股，前文的bum也是同樣意思。例句：Why don’t you get off your behind and do something!（你為什麼不移開屁股，做點事情！）