Some fat could save your life

I was browising Cracked.com and thought I'd share part of an article I was reading. Admittedly it's a humor website (hence some of the comments in the article) and not about health, but it's still interesting. Too bad they don't have links or references to the research they site.

6 Slacker Behaviors That Science Says Are Good For You

"#5. Being Fat Might Help You Live Longer

When we say that some fat can help you live longer, we're not talking about being obese here. Obesity is still worse for your health than trying to ride a bear that is riding shark. But...

In a rather morbid study, Canadian researchers observed thousands of people for 12 years, carefully noting when they kicked the bucket. Not surprisingly, the super obese subjects died first, proving once and for all that all the video games where you gain more health as you eat more are not scientifically accurate. However, people at what was considered a healthy weight tended to die second, leaving the not-exactly-svelte to laugh as they slurped a milkshake. Then the milkshake came out of their noses, and that made everyone laugh.

So How is This Helpful?

The most likely reason for the chubbies living longer is stress tolerance. Their bodies have fat reserves they can use while sick or under stress; skinny bodies don't. In other words, being an underfed, stressed out Calvin Klein underwear model is a lot more dangerous for you than lounging on the couch all day.

So fat can make you last longer under stress, but it's not like a big booty can actually save your life, right? Wrong. A study in England discovered that having fat on your back and thighs helps your body produce beneficial hormones that lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Even more interesting is what happened to the patients who decided to lose their *kitten* fat during the course of the study, presumably right around the time the scientists told them they qualified for participation in an *kitten* fat study. The subjects who lost fat around their butt during the study were actually more likely to have a heart attack, marking the first and last time that taking medical advice from Sir Mix-a-Lot saved someone's life.

One of the reasons for fat's unexpected healing powers is that dangerous acids tend to build up in fatty tissue, instead of loitering inside your liver or heart. And in case you're wondering, having toxic acids inside your buttocks is significantly better than having them in your heart valves. It's pretty much like having an angry chipmunk bite your *kitten* versus the same chipmunk biting your heart."

For the rest of the article: http://www.cracked.com/article_18595_6-slacker-behaviors-that-science-says-are-good-you.html#ixzz0uLRUfHf7