Thunder thighs are a sign of robust health – here’s how to keep yours super strong

It’s a freezing cold winter’s day in 1992 and I’m shivering at the edge of the school playing field in tiny maroon polyester gym knickers, clutching a hockey stick, rain lashing down from the big, bleak Fenland skies onto my blue, goosebumped legs. “Oi, thunder thighs!” shouts a willowy classmate as they thwack the ball straight towards my shins. Mortified, I obviously miss the pass, but luckily nobody notices my humiliated tears through the downpour.

As a pubescent 11-year-old, having a noticeably curvier bottom than half your peers is no fun at all when it comes to everything from team sports to jeans-shopping. At least PE kits tend to be slightly less obscenely figure-hugging these days.

At 42, though, I’ve learned that there’s no point fighting my natural shape, so I might as well embrace it – which means I’m pleased to hear that there’s some scientific truth in the phrase “thick thighs save lives”. It doesn’t mean I’ll be able to find jeans that fit my body shape any time soon, but at least I can feel confident that it isn’t too damaging for my health.

According to a new study by Kitasato University in Japan, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, carrying weight on your upper legs can have a positive impact on a wide range of medical factors, from blood pressure and heart health to the odds of needing a knee replacement and even memory loss and brain health.

The biggest takeaway from the Japanese study is that heart attack patients are 41 per cent less likely to go on to develop heart disease if they have strong upper legs. The researchers measured the strength of 1,000 recovering patients’ quadricep muscles over a period of four years and found that, for every 5 per cent increase in strength, the associated risk of heart failure lowered by 11 per cent. It’s believed that this is down to strong upper leg muscles releasing beneficial proteins that help the heart repair after a trauma.

Of course, it would be better not to have a heart attack in the first place – and there’s also plenty of well-documented evidence showing that carrying weight on the bottom half of the body, rather than areas closer to the heart, can help prevent frightening cardio issues, with higher blood pressure more likely in overweight and obese people who carry more of their weight on their stomachs than their lower halves.

But while adopting a healthy lifestyle, particularly as we age, can obviously minimise the chances of heart problems in general, it’s difficult for anyone to control where their body stores fat and carries weight. We might not be able to do much about the genetic factors that define our body shape, but it’s good to know that working on leg strength can offset some of the things that are harder to control.

‘Strong thighs are so important’

Fitness trainer Hannah Verdier often works with midlife clients who are looking to increase their lower body strength to protect their health as they age. “Although you can’t really change your body shape, you can strengthen your thighs. Strong thighs are so important as you get older – you want to stay pain-free and they’re vital for stability. It’s all about preventing falls and if you have strong legs and core, plus good balance  – practice standing on one leg while you’re brushing your teeth or washing up – it’s a great investment as you get older.”

Hannah recommends straightforward bodyweight squats as a great, accessible way to start strengthening your legs. “They’re a compound movement, which means they use several muscles – the exercise equivalent of value for money,” she says. “Focus on your technique and you can add weights later when you’re more confident. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, engage your glutes (squeeze an imaginary egg between your bum cheeks) and come down into a squat. You should still be able to see your toes. Keep the weight in your heels and push back up to a standing position, remembering to squeeze those glutes. Even if you can’t squat down into an imaginary chair, work within your range of movement and build on it.”

It’s also important not to neglect the inner thighs, where your adductor muscles are located – building strength here might not be as visible, but it’s crucial. “If you look after these they will help support your pelvic floor,” Hannah says. “Try this: lie on the floor, put your feet flat on the ground and then pop a Pilates ball or a pillow between your knees, squeeze for 10 seconds, then release and repeat.”

As an avid runner, it often frustrates me when it feels like my naturally curvy shape slows me down – but I can also feel that the strength I’ve built up in my quads and glutes makes me better at endurance. I might not look like a supermodel in hot pants, but I can run long distances and I didn’t find pregnancy and childbirth too much bother – could this partly be down to strong thighs too? According to the experts, yes – powerful glutes and quads can help with both support and mobility during pregnancy, the pushing part of labour and even post-natal recovery.

Women can reap the benefits way beyond the child-bearing years too. While carrying excess weight can take its toll on the knees, if enough of that weight is muscle and is held in the upper legs, it can actually cut the risk of needing a total knee replacement. Research by the University of California showed that osteoarthritis sufferers with big quadricep muscles were 82 per cent less likely to need the operation than those with smaller quads.

Our brains and thighs might be a fair distance apart but, believe it or not, there is even evidence of mental benefits to having chunky thighs too – a 2015 study at King’s College London found that they helped protect mental ability and brain structure, while weight-bearing leg exercises like squats were also found to trigger nerve signals that are vital to producing new healthy brain cells. It means that building these sorts of exercises into your routine (for instance, by doing a few squats while you boil the kettle) becomes even more important later in life, mentally as well as physically, potentially even lowering the chances of memory loss.

It’s definitely good news for me – plus celebrities blessed with strong thighs like Beyoncé, model Ashley Graham and popstar Lizzo, who’s so proud of her chunky upper legs that she included the lyrics “thick thighs save lives” in one of her biggest hits, Tempo. I’m not sure I’ll be flaunting my own “thunder thighs” on stage at Wembley any time soon, but next time someone makes a comment about my curvy body while I’m out marathon training, I’ll try to remember that the shape I was born with and have spent so many years trying to fight might actually be doing me some good.