Big Boned, Big Thighs & the Truth Your Tape Measure Won't Tell You

Midlife Mayhem — Episode Show Notes

Hey there,

Two Instagram posts sent me down a rabbit hole this week, and I couldn't wait to bring it to you.

Post one: a woman says if you can't wrap your fingers around your wrist, you're "big boned" — not overweight, just built bigger. Post two: if your thigh isn't over 24 inches around, you'll apparently live longer. As someone who's trained for 44 years, can squat 200lbs, and still only measures 20 inches on a good day... I had thoughts.

So this episode is a myth autopsy. Both claims have real research behind them — that's exactly why they spread so fast. But both get flattened and distorted by the time they hit your feed. In this one, I break down:

• Where the "wrist test" actually comes from, and what it's really measuring (hint: not what you think)
• Why your skeleton makes up roughly 12–15% of your body weight no matter your frame size — and why that number barely moves
• The real 2009 Danish study behind the thigh circumference claim, and the threshold it actually found (not the straight line social media is selling you)
• Why a tape measure can't tell muscle from fat — and why that matters more than the number itself
• The one waist measurement I'd actually pay attention to instead
• What genuinely protects your bones and muscle in midlife (spoiler: it's not a tape measure)

I also measure my own wrist and thigh live on the mic, so you can hear exactly how the numbers play out on someone who's spent a lifetime training. Grab your own tape measure before you hit play — you'll want to check your own numbers along the way.

This week's shoutout: I'm filming with my friend Sue this week about hair thinning in midlife and what actually helped her — keep an eye out for that one on YouTube and right here on the podcast.

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⏰ Code expires September 8th — I'm heading off on vacation and won't be able to ship for a week after that, so this one has a hard cutoff.

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Thanks for listening, and thank you for being part of Midlife Mayhem. If you enjoyed this one, share it with a friend who needs to hear it, and I'll catch you in the next episode.

Joanne Lee Cornish
hello@joannlee.com
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