JLO’s Racy Selfie Reminds Us Of the Benefits of Having a Curvy Body

It hasn’t been easy for JLO to keep the body she has, especially having to work in an industry where they want to constantly slim you down for a role. “They kept telling me to lose weight, and I was a dancer and I was athletic and even my manager at the time, who I no longer work with, was telling me, ‘You need to lose weight. You need to be thinner,” she said. “I was like, ‘No I don’t. If I lose any more weight it won’t be me,’” she says.

Women like JLo who carry all their weight on their bottom are actually at an advantage. Fat around your thighs and butt is different than the fat you carry around your stomach. The fat around your stomach is more dangerous since you store fat around your vital organs, which can put you at risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Stomach fat is considered more metabolically active than lower body fat. As your body breaks down this fat, it releases cytokines, which are linked to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes.

The fat around your thighs and butt has fatty acids that can help protect you against these diseases. This is why women with big butts tend to have lower cholesterol levels and produce sugar-metabolizing hormones.

JLO has always had a curvy body, which is why it’s not surprising that so many women want to have her shape. In this day in age when everyone wants to be skinny, it’s great to see someone like JLO embrace her body and curves.