According to Dr Frederik Carpe, a researcher at Oxford University, women with big bottoms are smarter and are less likely to get diabetes since they are more likely to produce hormones to metabolise sugar. The study examined the fat accumulated in different parts of a woman's body.

The study also suggests that women with big bottoms tend to have lower levels of cholesterol and fewer heart problems. As it relates to his findings that women with big bottoms are smarter, Dr Carpe claims that the omega-3 fats stored in the bottoms of women supports brain development. The research also found that children born to women with wider hips are intellectually superior to the children of slimmer, less curvy mothers.

"Lower body fat is protective against heart diseases and diabetes, and we are now beginning to see that the function of the lower body fat is such that it protects the body against the harmful effects from being overweight. Most women don't like the comments that I make, but the truth is, it is actually good to have a big bum," Dr Carpe said in a video interview with Liveleak.com.

The researcher claims to have analysed sample data from 16,000 women to prove his point. Controversial news station Fox News challenged Dr Carpe's findings in one of their posts.

According to Fox, which poked jokes at the alleged results, if Dr Carpe's revelation is true, then women like Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez will live longer than their peers with smaller bottoms. Fox also said that if a man tells a woman that he likes her big derriere, it should no longer be seen as a rude gesture, but actually a compliment as it relates to her level of intelligence.

Fox also reinterpreted the meaning of '90s hip hop single I like Big Butts which was released by iconic rapper Sir-Mix-Alot in 1992, a song which was banned from MTV and drew much criticism because of its blatantly sexual lyrics about women, as well as specific references to the female buttocks which some people found objectionable.

"I think that song I like Big Butts now takes on a new meaning because now it actually means you are looking for the perfect woman. It's now an intellectual statement; I like Big Butts is now saying I'm after your mind," Fox asserted.

The Sunday Gleaner contacted Lurine Less, chairperson of the International Diabetes Foundation, Caribbean Region, and she says there is some truth to Dr Carpe's findings and their relative resistance to diabetes.

"I have seen other researches that speak to that topic about the American apple shape and the pear shape. The apple shape is rounded in the middle and is a risk factor for diabetes because of the abdominal fat concentration in the middle of the body. With the pear shape (women with big bottoms), there is no concentration of fat in the middle area, it is spread down to the bottom area. Persons with this shape are usually less likely to get diabetes," Less said.

curtis.campbell@gleanerjm

