Sir Mix-A-Lot was right.

A new study out of Oxford University in England found women with "pear-shaped" figures -- ample extra padding around the hips, buttocks and thighs -- are actually at a lower risk for heart and metabolic diseases.

"It is shape that matters and where the fat gathers," said Oxford's Dr. Konstantinos Manolopoulos, explaining that fat stored on the hips and in the rear absorb harmful fatty acids and further prevent arteries from clogging.

"Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you, but around the tummy is bad," he told BBC News, noting that the proverbial "spare tire" around the belly leads to higher incidences of heart disease.

The findings help explain why women traditionally have lower rates of heart disease then men until they reach menopause, when their rates rise as they begin to gather fat around their midsections (and more likely to already have diabetes and eventually develop heart disease instead).

Plus-Sized Nightclubs?

Move over, it's Saturday night at Club Bounce and people are bouncing onto the dance floor in a big, big way. These are big, big people, all dressed to the nines and many tipping the scales at 250, maybe 300 pounds.

That's because this expansive nightclub a couple blocks from the Pacific Ocean, with its flashing lights, friendly atmosphere and wall-rattling hip-hop sounds, caters specifically to fat people. Not just any fat people, either, but fat people who are proud to call themselves fat people. The club, with a capacity of 400, attracts relatively equal numbers of men and women, although the owner says about three-quarters of the women tend to be heavy, while only about a quarter of the men are (you know dat's right!).

Such clubs are still a relatively new phenomenon, however, with a handful scattered across California, mainly in coastal cities from San Diego to San Francisco.

"The whole thing really started on the internet, with clubhouse parties organized online," says Kathleen Divine, who runs another Southern California plus-size club, the Butterfly Lounge. "Now you see a lot more large people out in public, not hiding behind their keyboards anymore."

Source: Fox News (Can you believe it?)