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The Weird Link Between Skinny Guys And Nose Bacteria

The claim: Of course, you think your guy is sexy no matter what. But if he’s carrying a few extra pounds, he might want to think about what’s going on inside his nose: Men with higher levels of body fat tend to have less-healthy strains of bacteria in their nostrils, finds new research published in the American Journal of Human Biology

The research: Researchers at the University of Wroclaw in Poland collected the height and weight measurements of 90 healthy men ages 18 to 34. They also took nasal and throat swabs to collect bacteria samples from each participant. Men with potentially disease-causing bacteria (like those responsible for staph infection, strep throat, or the flu) in their nostrils were more likely to have higher body mass indexes than men whose nasal passages were free of the harmful bugs. 

What it means: Men who are heavier may be less resistant to bacterial infections, while their leaner counterparts could be more effective at staving off sickness. The reasons why aren’t entirely clear, but "men with lower BMIs might have stronger immune systems and therefore have better genes responsible for immunization," says study author Boguslaw Pawloski, PhD. Sometimes called the "good gene hypothesis," it’s one reason why men at healthy weights are seen as more attractive (from an evolutionary perspective, at least) compared to overweight or obese guys: They’re less likely to get sick.  

The bottom line: Men with excess body fat aren’t just at risk for health problems like high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease—they’re also more likely to have punier immune systems. "If the immune system is weakened, then opportunistic bacteria can cause serious diseases," says Dr. Pawlowski. In other words, consider this yet one more reason to keep excess pounds at bay.

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