The secret to waist management, part 1

It's easy. Dive into the right gene pool! Here I am about age 18 at the senior prom wearing my grandmother's waist (22"), followed by a photo of me at 68 on my 40 year old bike wearing my grandmother's arms when she was about this age. See how easy it is to have a small waist? All you need is a body shape that doesn't have your bottom rib resting on your pelvis so that there is some space for all that flab to fill! Then as you age, the spine shrinks a little, and the waist expands. Any other questions?

Small waist, heavy hips

We're not in great demand as movie stars or models, but I've never seen any medical studies attributing cardiovascular disease, psoriasis, breast cancer or Alzheimer's to my body shape (the classic pear). Yes, there's more bad belly news, according to the latest issue of Neurology. Large amounts of belly fat are associated with declining cognition. Just being over weight or obese nearly doubles the risk of dementia in old age, according to this study by Rachel Whitmer which looked at 6,583 who were middle age between 1964-1973. Central body fat increases the risk even more, and normal weight people with high belly fat have an elevated risk of dementia.

"What that tells you is the effect of the belly is over and above that of being overweight," Whitmer said. "One of the take-home messages is it's not just your weight but where you carry your weight in middle age that is a strong predictor of dementia."

But here's a bright spot: it's much easier to lose belly weight than those dimpled thighs or buttocks. So cut those calories and start exercising--it's the only way.

WaPo story which has been reprinted in most major newspapers.

There may be something different in this latest study, but this information also appeared 3 years in BMJ: Whitmer RA, Gunderson EP, Barrett-Connor E, Quesenberry CP Jr, Yaffe K. "Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study." BMJ 2005;330:1360.

Hillary Clinton's legs

There's a good article in today's Wall Street Journal by Christina Binkley about "Women in Power"--their fashion tastes. Hillary is shown in that bright yellow blazer with black slacks we've seen on TV. Most of the other powerful women are shown in more feminine attire. Of the outfits shown, Condi's was way out in front with a very attractive skirted suit that showed off her lovely features, but looked smart. Nancy Pelosi's suit was a tad short and bunchy, and looking at her person you can't help but see she is a Californian with various enhancements and injections a part of her regimen. The PepsiCo CEO also looked lovely in an outfit that spoke to her heritage. Would it be racist to suggest that minority women in the US have a flare that the rest of us lack?

Yes, Hillary looks like I loaned her my legs, even though she's a pro-abortion, feminist, socialist who might go to the White House, not on the coat tails of her husband, but his fly. (There's some pretty good theory out there that she might not be where she is today if it hadn't been for Bill's indiscretions, particularly 10 years ago with Monica.)

But here's something to consider. She's probably healthier than the other candidates, both Republican and Democrat. Those of us with pear-shaped bodies (which almost always means heavier legs) are much healthier than those of us with apple-shaped bodies (usually they have great legs). If you don't believe me, google it. But I think she should get out of those omnipresent, omni-coverage slacks, and flaunt her healthy, solid, sturdy legs. Just lengthen the skirts a little, because wide thighs are just murder when you sit down on stage in front of an audience--even for skinny candidates.