How long do girls with big butts live

Full disclaimer: Every body type is beautiful. But science says some bodies are healthier than others.

Got a big booty? Tremendous tush? Heavy-duty derriere? Whatever you want to call it, we have great news. According to a recent study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, having some extra fat down there could make you way healthier.

The latest research suggests that extra weight on a woman’s hips and thighs can block fat from reaching the internal organs, which protects the heart and lungs. As a result, big-bottomed women have a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. Don’t miss even more health secrets your butt wants you to know.

Researchers monitored fat distribution through MRI scans and regular health check-ups. According to lead author Dr. Norbert Stefan, a diabetes specialist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, pear-shaped women with a normal weight were more likely to “‘offer safe storage’ for fat cells” when compared to their apple-shaped counterparts, the Independent reports. (This is the sneaky way your body shape could be sabotaging your health.)

Stefan’s team says that not all fat is created equal. (It’s just one of many myths about fat.) In fact, the extra bulk on our hips and thighs—also called subcutaneous fat—has a completely different purpose from the kind found in our abdomens, known as visceral fat. The latter releases harmful chemicals and fatty acids that can damage the cardiovascular system, leading to high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and diabetes down the road. Subcutaneous fat protects the heart, instead.

However, these results may not apply to women who are already overweight. The data suggests the fat levels in these women’s hearts and lungs were already too high for their hips and thighs to be an effective protectant. Translation: Maintaining a healthy weight is still key to living a longer, healthier life.

Regardless, you should love your butt—no matter its size! To show more bum appreciation, start with the best underwear for your butt shape.

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Generally speaking, the size of the butt is determined by four factors:

1. The bone structure of the pelvis
2. The origin and insertion points of the gluteus muscles
3. The size of the butt muscles
4. How much fat the glutes carry

Clearly, big butts are for the most part born, not made. All of the preceding factors are genetic. The first two are almost certainly controlled by multiple genes, but scientists reporting in the journal Genome have reported that, in sheep at least, that a single mutated gene (named "callipyge," from the Greek word meaning beautiful buttocks) causes some animals to have an unusually large, muscular bottom.

Whether this same gene exists in humans is unknown, as is whether it explains the proclivities of certain lonely sheepherders, but one thing is clear: a bigger butt seems to come with certain health benefits.

Oxford researcher Dr. Konstantin Manolopoulos looked at a sampling of 16,000 women and found that thigh fat and a larger hip circumference, unlike tummy fat, promotes health and is in fact "protective by itself."

Apparently, abdominal fat is much more active in storing and releasing fat after heavy exercise or periods of starvation. Thigh and butt fat, however, is used for much longer-term storage.

The fat stored near the stomach dispenses free fatty acids that float around the body and are deposited in organs like the liver, and this is associated with things like diabetes, insulin resistance, or heart disease. This type of fat is also known to release inflammatory cytokines, which further promote disease.

The thighs and butt, however, trap fat, in addition to secreting beneficial fat-burning hormones like leptin and adipokinectin.

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