You can see the risk of diabetes by looking at your buttocks...The difference between men and women?
Nov 27, 2025
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A research team at the University of Westminster in England analyzed about 61,300 MRI images registered in the UK Biobank database and confirmed that the shape of men's and women's hip muscles depends on age, physical strength, lifestyle, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. As a result of the analysis, men tended to contract muscles in diabetic patients, and women showed a pattern of muscle buildup and fat accumulation.
Dr. Marzola Tanaz, who led the study, explained that while previous studies mainly focused on muscle size or fat mass, this study precisely shows where and how muscles change through 3D shape analysis.
In addition, the higher the physical strength, the healthier the femoral muscle shape, while aging, weakness, and long-sitting lifestyles contributed to the thinning of muscles. Biological differences according to gender were also identified, such as men's overall muscle contraction when they are weak, while women are affected by aging only in certain areas.
The femoral muscle is one of the largest muscles in the human body, closely related to metabolic health that processes fat and sugars and responds to insulin. The research team concluded that muscle shape changes can be an early warning signal for type 2 diabetes, and that the response to insulin resistance varies according to gender.
This is also consistent with previous studies showing that even if the body mass index (BMI) is in the normal range, there is a risk of diabetes if it exceeds an individual's fat tolerance. Experts advise that changes in hip muscle shape as well as waist circumference should be carefully examined.
Meanwhile, the global diabetic population is increasing rapidly year by year. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in April this year, there are 589 million diabetic patients worldwide.
The risk of diabetes is also increasing in Korea.
As of 2021-22 announced by the Korean Diabetes Association, the total number of diabetic patients aged 30 or older in Korea reached nearly 20 million, including 5.33 million and 14 million in the pre-diabetes population.
Reporter Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
