If what scientists are saying is anything to go by, then, clearly, the much-despised socialites might have the last laugh in the long run. Reportedly, women with bigger bums like socialites Vera Sidika, Hudah Monroe, Corazon Kwamboka and many others are likely to give birth to more intelligent children.
That’s because fat found in their thighs and bottoms are needed to develop babies’ brains, scientists said. Academics claim that these ‘fat banks’ play a vital role in fuelling the development of newborns’ brains during breastfeeding – with a woman’s behind acting as a reserve for vital nutrients.
The study suggests that the ability of women to retain large fat reserves on their legs and buttocks was a vital element in survival and the evolution of intelligence.
Professor Will Lassek, a public health epidemiologist at Pittsburgh University in the United States, said: “The fat in these areas are also enriched in DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which is a particularly important component in the human brain. It looks as if women have evolved to accumulate these fats and hold on to them – until a baby arrives.”
Prof Lassek, whose latest research into the link between DHA intake and intelligence was published in his book Why Women Need Fat, added: “It has always been a complete mystery why women have so much fat. Mammals’ and primates’ bodies typically have about five to 10 percent of fat but in human women that rises to 30 percent on average. This is similar to the levels seen in bears going into hibernation or whales living in cold Arctic seas. Women have traded muscle for fat so they are about a third as strong.”
This must be good news to local socialites who have been getting a lot of criticism, with some Kenyans putting their intelligence to doubt.
Prof Lassek and his co-author Steven Gaulin, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have shown how vital the fat stored in women’s bottoms and thighs are to babies’ brains.
Prof Lassek said: “During nursing, the ‘fat bank’ is mobilized so the DHA stored there becomes available for the growing brain.
“About 80 percent of the DHA needed by a baby’s brain comes from a mother’s stored fat. Less than one percent of body fat is DHA so a lot of fat has to be shifted. That’s why lactating women may lose a pound of fat a month.”
David Bainbridge, a reproductive biologist at Cambridge University who has also studied the female body shape, said the latest findings could explain why men find curvy women, such as singer Nicki Minaj, so attractive.
But this idea isn’t new: Research dating back to 2007 showed that gluteofemoral fat is key in producing smart offspring.
In fact, Lassek even hypothesized men could be attracted to women with large bottoms as an evolutionary way of ensuring successful children.
As with all studies, it’s important to note fitness and diet are also important to overall bodily health. Hourglass-shaped bodies, if they’re not cared for properly, can be just as unhealthy as those who carry weight around the core.
The bottom line? Girls, stay active and healthy, because carrying “good” fat below the waist is most likely the result of genetics. –AGENCIES
