What Your Butt Shape Reveals About Your Health and Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

What does your butt shape say about your health? No, that’s not a trick question. A new British study suggests that the shape of your glutes—not just the size or fat content—may hint at overall metabolic health. That’s largely because it’s one of the biggest muscle groups, a metabolic engine of sorts, that may signal how well your body handles energy, stores fat and responds to aging, inactivity or chronic conditions like diabetes. Keep reading as a top doctor breaks down the study’s findings and weighs in on what these “glute clues” really mean for your overall wellbeing.

The link between butt shape and health

This new study suggests that changes in the shape of your gluteus maximus muscles (aka butt!)—rather than muscle size or fat deposition alone—may reflect underlying metabolic health, confirms double board-certified Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine physician Richele Corrado, DO, who was not affiliated with the study.

As you might expect, higher fitness levels were closely associated with healthier butt shape. But you may be surprised by at least one measure of that fitness. “People who were more physically active and had greater grip strength showed preservation of muscle shape in their glutes,” explains Dr. Corrado, suggesting the healthiest butt shape is one that’s, unsurprisingly, rounder and stronger. On the other hand, “aging, frailty and long periods of sitting were linked to muscle thinning [in the glutes].” Translation: A butt that’s flatter, weaker and less full means your overall health could be suffering.

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Why butt shape is so important

Simply put, the gluteus maximus lives up to that mighty, almost gladiatorial, name: As the body’s “caboose,” it helps us stay mobile, supports our everyday functioning and is central to our metabolism.

“The glutes matter for health not just because of the muscle itself, but because they reflect how the body stores fat,” says Dr. Corrado. “Fat stored safely in the hips and thighs (called gluteofemoral fat) is protective, lowering the risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, while excess fat in the abdomen, liver or inside muscle increases metabolic risk.”

Genetics partly determine lower-body fat storage, but lifestyle, activity and muscle quality also play major roles, she explains. “Changes in gluteal muscle shape or quality—like thinning, shrinkage or fat infiltration—may therefore provide clues to broader metabolic health and how the body handles extra energy over time.”

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What butt shape may predict about women’s health

Interestingly, the study also uncovered clear differences between men and women, highlighting how metabolic risk can vary by sex:

• Men with type 2 diabetes showed thinning and shrinkage of gluteal muscles, associated with frailty.
• Women with type 2 diabetes showed enlarged gluteal muscles, primarily due to fat infiltration.

These differences may indicate important variations in muscle composition and early metabolic risk, though further research is needed, Dr. Corrado points out. So while a strong butt is healthy, one that’s enlarged could be an early warning sign of diabetes.

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The bottom line on… the shape of your bottom

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As with anything when it comes to health, the story this study tells is a bit more complex than it might seem at first blush. “The bigger takeaway is that muscle quality—and where the body stores fat and its fat capacity—are shaped by genetics, activity level and lifestyle,” says Dr. Corrado. “These factors influence metabolic risk in ways that body weight alone can’t capture, reinforcing the fact that weight isn’t always a good measure of health.”

The good news: Physical activity helps across all genetic backgrounds, she assures. (Discover our best glute exercises.) “Regular movement and strength training improve muscle quality, support healthier fat storage and help the body use blood sugar more effectively.

Even small changes—like sitting less, getting up a few times a day to move around and building and maintaining muscle—can help offset genetic risk factors and improve your metabolic health,” Dr. Corrado concludes.