15 Jul, 2010

Hips have staged a comeback recently with buxom stars like Kim Kardashian and Christina Hendricks embracing their feminine curves, but new scientific research may have turned things pear-shaped for hip-heavy women again.
 
A study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, has shown that women with wider hips are more likely than their ‘apple’ or ‘column’ counterparts to experience reduced memory and brain function, reported UK's Daily Mail.
 
Although obesity is negative for one’s cognitive health generally, the findings have suggested that the particular type of fat deposited around the hips can be more detrimental that other types.
 
This fat is thought to contribute to the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive dysfunctions.
 
Lead author of the study, Diana Kerwin, of Northwestern University in Chicago says that women carrying extra weight on their hips need to be conscious of what the effects can be.
 
"This study tells us if we have a woman in our office, and we know from her waist-to-hip ratio that she's carrying excess fat on her hips, we might be more aggressive with weight loss. We can't change where your fat is located, but having less of it is better," she said.

By Edwina Carr