Ever look down to find that your calf and ankle seem to have morphed into one continuous body part? Popular culture has termed this attractive feature the “cankle.” Everyone from pregnant women to those carrying some extra weight have been plagued by the cankle, but none have yet to embrace it.
Studies on fat distribution in the body show that an ankle that has lost definition, having joined itself with calf, could be a signal of better health, for those who aren’t obese. Those carrying extra weight in their lower body are less likely to have weight-related health problems, like those who carry weight in their abdomen, which puts additional strain on the organs.
Wendy Kohrt, PhD, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado – Denver, says “leg fat may protect postmenopausal women by drawing triglycerides out of the bloodstream, where they constitute a risk factor, and into fat deposits in the legs.”
Source: Prevention Magazine March 2024