I have always envied people with shapely, thin legs – that is because I was born with heavy and big ones and I have never learned to appreciate them, not until I came to know this fact: Thin thighs might actually kill you. Or at least put a strain on your heart.

People with skinny thighs are more likely to develop, and die from, heart disease.

That’s the word from Danish researchers who studied more than 2,800 middle-aged people for up to a dozen years, only to find that those with the slimmest thighs had the highest chance of heart disease and premature death. There was up to twice the risk there is of developing heart diseases for those thin thighs.

According to a new study in the online version of the British Medical Journal, people whose thighs measured less than 60 centimeters, or about 23.6 inches in circumference, were in trouble. And those with stick-thin thighs (less than 18 inches around) were at the greatest risk.

The catch here though, is that having larger than average thighs doesn’t appear to provide a protective benefit either. The study should not be interpreted as a free pass for people who want to skip the gym. In this case, much bigger was not better. The protective benefits of heftier thighs didn’t rise when thighs grew larger than 60 centimetres.

Researchers theorize that the lack of lower body muscle mass affected the metabolism in a negative way, putting the body at risk for disease. Although the reasons for the increased risk of small thighs isn’t clear, it’s likely that those with smaller limbs lacked the muscle mass and lower body bulk necessary to ensure proper glucose and lipid metabolism, key factors for more serious disease.

Either way, the standard advice to protect your heart health hasn’t changed:

* Eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
* Exercise moderately most days of the week.
* Stop smoking.
* Drink in moderation.
* Get plenty of sleep.

“For more news about heart disease and metabolic syndrome news, please visit TheHeart.org”