I'm Not Fat, I'm Just Big Boned!

Researchers found that the heavier an individual was, the wider the shaft of that person’s femur.

Study Finds That Overweight People Really Are Big-Boned

“This research allows us to determine whether an individual was overweight based solely on the characteristics of a skeleton’s femur, or thigh bone,” says Dr. Ann Ross, an associate professor of anthropology at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. However, Ross notes, this research does not give us the ability to provide an individual’s exact weight based on skeletal remains.

Researchers found that the heavier an individual was, the wider the shaft of that person’s femur. The researchers hypothesize that the femur of an overweight person is more robust because it bears more weight, but also because overweight individuals move and walk differently to compensate for their greater mass.

Makes sense.  We've known for a long time that bones respond to stress by increasing in mass and strength to compensate.  Nothing makes more stress than carrying around an extra 50 or so lbs constantly.

How's the diet going, you ask?  Well, I'm currently down 28 lbs from Jan. 1.  And yes, I do feel lighter.  Hungrier too, a lot.