Research

Hormonal

Larger hip circumference is associated with a decreased risk of coronary heart disease, independent of waist circumference and BMI, suggesting a protective metabolic effect of peripheral adiposity.

A larger hip circumference relative to your waist may be protective against heart disease. This suggests that storing fat in the hips and thighs might be metabolically healthier than storing it in the abdomen. Focus on reducing abdominal fat rather than just overall weight.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
After adjustment for waist circumference, body mass index, and coronary heart disease risk factors, hazard ratios for 1-SD increase in hip circumference were 0.80 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.87) in men and 0.80 (95% CI, 0.69 to 0.93) in women.
Dexter Canoy et al. · Circulation · 2007

Why this rating

Same high-quality prospective cohort data as N1.

Source

Body Fat Distribution and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk Cohort

Dexter Canoy et al. · Circulation · 2007

DOI 10.1161/circulationaha.106.673756

cohort · n=24508Cited 473×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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