According to Dr. Karan Raj, a British medic who regularly shares offbeat biological knowledge with over four million fans on TikTok, people with a “heavy-duty derriere” might be primed for a longer life expectancy.
That’s because fat deposits in the gluteral-femoral region (the butt, hips and thighs) are associated with fewer health risks than fat deposits in the abdominal region, which is generally linked to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Dr. Raj explains the science in the video below:
Basically, the fat that collects in your torso (where most of the vital organs are located) is visceral fat. It wraps around those organs, releasing fatty acids and causing inflammation. This can lead to vasoconstriction — defined as when the muscles around your blood vessels tighten to make the space inside smaller. Which makes it a lot harder for the heart to do its job.
Meanwhile, the fat that collects around the bum is subcutaneous fat, meaning just under the skin. This sort of fat A) won’t go around suffocating organs, B) actually soaks up nefarious fatty acids and C) even releases leptin, a hormon that regulates appetite and body weight.
After years of butt-appreciation culture in music and movies, it’s unlikely people still need to be told to feel proud about their big bottoms, but consider this some scientific proof. It’s healthy to have extra junk in the trunk. As always, you’re going to want to target heart-healthy foods to prevent abdominal obesity, but don’t worry about the extra pounds hovering around your waist.
As for Dr. Raj, this video is part of a recent, fascinating trend in which doctors with online personalities repurpose attention-grabbing research for a broader audience. In the past, there have been videos on beer goggles, peeing in the shower and something called “scalp popping.”
These medical officials aren’t actually doing any new research — anyone with Google could’ve learned the butt-fat tidbit over the last 10 years, but what’s important is that they’re packaging the info and disseminating for a young, often-distracted generation. After all: thicc thighs save lives. To see more of Dr. Raj’s videos, head here.
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