by Jolene M. Bouchon

 

 

It may sound too good to be true for those of us who are curvier around the rear, but having thicker thighs (in both men and women) could actually mean that you have a lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

 

You’ve heard that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but did you know they may also be indicators of your athletic ability? In fact, there could be clues about who you are, what you’re good at, and what might happen to you — all over your body. Find out what expert studies have revealed about your favorite physical features.

Chest

When someone refers to a woman as “well endowed,” do you assume they’re talking about the size of her bust or of her brain? You could be right if you said both, according to one University of Chicago study. Sociologists gave a group of 1,200 women with varying cup sizes IQ tests. The larger-breasted women’s scores were an average of 10 points higher than the other women. Researchers chalk it up to either a possible link between sex-hormone levels and intelligence, or natural selection.

Waist

Slim waist? You could be looking forward to a long life, says a study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine. According to the findings, having a larger waist circumference was linked, generally, to a higher mortality risk. What’s more, this risk associated with a larger waist size was higher even in people considered to be of normal weight. This was particularly true for women. So watch your waist and your weight for optimal health.

Belly Button

Where your navel falls on your torso could indicate how fast a runner or swimmer you’d be, according to a study published in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics. It’s all about your center of gravity, which is in your belly button. Given two athletes of the same height, the one with the higher center of gravity (and thus longer legs relative to their height) will be the faster runner. Those with a lower navel position will be faster swimmers, due to a longer torso.

Hips

If a study by the University of Leeds of women between 18 and 26, published in theArchives of Sexual Behavior is to be believed, there’s a connection between hip width and one-night stands. The wider the hips, researchers found, the more likely participants were to engage in single-evening encounters and have more sexual partners. Wide hips don’t necessarily cause women to be more promiscuous, according to the study, but the larger the hips, the easier the childbirth — making women less frightened about sex leading to complications.

In older women, however, wider hips and bigger rears can be an indicator of something else altogether: forgetfulness. The type of fat that accumulates around the hips releases more of something called “cytokines,” which slows down sharp thinking. While you might not be able to change the kind of fat your body tends to accumulate, having less of it is always better.

Thighs

It may sound too good to be true for those of us who are curvier around the rear, but having thicker thighs (in both men and women) could actually mean that you have a lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in theBritish Medical Journal. This may be due to greater muscle mass, having more of which burns calories faster and helps the body respond to insulin. The particular type of fat that accumulates around the lower body may play a part too. According to the research, scientists believe that this fat absorbs and siphons away harmful fatty acids (while tummy fat tends to store them). Of course, this isn’t license to go crazy on the cake; no amount of excess fat is healthy for you.

And, yes, you can be too thin: Excessively trim thighs were linked to higher risks due to lower leg-muscle mass. Take, that, skinny jeans!

Hair

If you’re a ginger, you may just feel pain more acutely, says a study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association. Researchers found that the same genetic mutation that’s responsible for red hair is linked to the way the brain processes pain. The dentists involved in the study found that the majority of redheads required more anesthesia for oral surgical procedures — no doubt leading to redheads being more afraid of the dentist.

You’re not a dumb blonde! A recent study published in Nature Genetics proves no link between hair color and intelligence. Golden strands, researchers found, are simply the result of one tiny gene mutation in the skin, a change that doesn’t alter any of the other tens of thousands of genes, not even those responsible for eye color.

Ears

Look at your earlobes. Can you see a diagonal crease? If so, you may be at a higher risk for heart disease, according to several studies. In one study, published in the British Heart Journal, researchers examined the features of people who had died from heart disease or heart attack and found that a majority of the subjects also displayed the diagonal earlobe crease, 72 percent of the men and 67 percent of the women.

Eyes

Athletically inclined? Your eye color just might indicate the kind of sports you’ll be good at. According to a study published in Perceptual and Motor Skills, dark-eyed people tend to do better at sports that require quick reaction times to fast-shifting stimulus, such as boxing or defensive football positions. Light-eyed athletes tended to be better at self-directed sports, such as bowling, golf, or pitching a ball.

Eyebrows

If the hair on your outer eyebrows is sparse, it may be time to stop plucking and get your thyroid checked. Called Hertoghe’s or Queen Anne’s Sign, thinning eyebrow hair, specifically at the outer third, is linked to Hashimoto’s Disease, or hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid. It is one of the symptoms of a more advanced stage of the disease.

Chin

Have a big jawline? Chin up? That may spell bad news for your partner, according to a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. The study found a possible link between women with stronger chins and cheating (testosterone, anyone?). According to the study, “Women’s sexual unrestrictedness, which is related to their risk of infidelity, can potentially be conveyed by the masculinity of women’s faces.” Hmmm.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.