Here’s the Reuters headline: Scientists find something good about a big bottom

And the BBC News headline: Type of body fat ‘boosts health’ (complete with bare non-fat bum photo)

Science Now (who should know better): Extra Pounds a Boon?

And FOXNews (I’m so disappointed!): Study: Big Hips, ‘Bottom’ May Protect Against Diabetes

Oooooh … I’m so excited!!! Big bum means better health? And it was a SCIENTIFIC study? Well then, it must be right.

Hey, I’ve got a bit of time available. Maybe I’ll look up the actual research paper published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism. Well now. That’s curious. I was kinda expecting JAMA or NEJM or Lancet. Oh, I see now.

It was a MOUSE study.Mouse in ORNL's new Mouse House.

You can’t see the entire article unless you have a subscription. Here’s the summary. They implanted subcutaneous (under the skin) fat from mice into the abdomen (tummy) of other mice. The treated mice had better health than untreated mice. This improved health included weight loss. Fat causes loss of fat? I’ll have to think about that one a bit more.

And here’s the key quote from the commentary in the same issue: “While subcutaneous fat seems to confer metabolic benefits, species differences in adipose biology justify caution in interpreting the results.”

Bottom line … we don’t know why people with different body shapes (big bums vs. big tummies) have different health.

Take home message: Don’t trust headlines about health topics.  Just ignore them and read the article.  Better yet, read the source material.