Women with slim hips at greater risk of heart attacks and diabetes

WOMEN with slim hips could be at risk of diabetes and heart attacks, researchers have shown.

Experts have long warned that putting on weight is dangerous for health, but the new research reinforces the theory that the location of fat in the body has a major impact.

Putting on weight around the hips is safer than if it accumulates around the belly, or is stored around major organs such as the liver or pancreas, the scientists found.

But the research team, from the University of Cambridge, found that some women are genetically less able to store fat on the hips.

This puts them at risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, because when they do put on fat, it is more likely to circulate in the blood, gather around the belly, or wrap around organs.

Lead author Dr Luca Lotta, of the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, said: ‘It may seem counter-intuitive to think that some people with less fat around their hips are at higher risk of diabetes or heart disease.

‘We believe that this is due to a genetically determined inability to store excess calories safely in the hip region, as opposed to elsewhere.

‘This means that individuals with this genetic make-up preferentially store their excess fat in the liver, muscles or pancreas, or in their blood in the form of circulating fats and sugar, any of which can lead to a higher disease risk.

‘We are trying to understand whether some of the genes identified by our study may be suitable targets for future drug development, but this process may take several years.’

Existing diabetes drugs called glitazones already move body fat from the organs to the hips, but they have side effects including heart problems and liver failure.

The researchers said the genetic element of their findings might enable scientists to develop bet- ter drugs that control the part of the body where fat is deposited.

The study, published in the JAMA medical journal, looked at the genetic profiles of more than 600,000 women.

It identified more than 200 genetic variants that predispose people to a higher waist-to-hip ratio – a measure of the ‘appleshaped’ body of slim hips and wide belly.

The researchers identified two specific groups of genetic variants – one that lowers fat around the hips, and another increasing fat around the waist and belly.

Senior author Dr Claudia Langenberg said: ‘We found that both of the genetic variants we identified were associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart attacks.

‘Carrying excess weight around the hips is a metabolically safer way of storing fat, but those who aren’t genetically predisposed to doing so would benefit greatly from lifestyle interventions, such as restricting calorie intake or increasing their physical activity.’

‘Might help us make better drugs’