People with short thighs not only have to walk faster next to their long-thighed counterparts, but they may also be at a higher risk for diabetes.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that people with short upper legs are more likely to have glucose intolerance or diabetes. They presented their findings Friday at a conference of the American Heart Association in Miami.

The study supports the idea that factors influencing growth in the womb and during childhood may contribute to diabetes development, said Dr. Keiko Asao.

Impaired glucose tolerance is also called insulin resistance. It's a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot efficiently turn blood sugar, or glucose, into energy.

SURVEY How do your thighs compare? They're short. They're long. They're average. I'm not sure. Results  |  Disclaimer

"Leg length is not the issue. Some factor that affects leg length may also affect the development of diabetes," Asao said. "The issue is: How good a marker is upper leg length? Our findings suggest a possible relationship between early growth and chronic disease later in life."

Researchers used data on 8,738 black, white and Hispanic men and women from a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The participants were grouped by race and gender, then compared based on their upper leg length and glucose tolerance.

They found that the average upper leg length for men and women with normal glucose tolerance was 40.2 centimeters, compared to 39.1 centimeters for those with impaired glucose tolerance and 38.3 centimeters for those with diabetes.

After adjusting for other risk factors, the association remained for white women and Mexican-American women, but not for blacks or men. For each centimeter less of thigh length, white women were 19 percent more likely to have diabetes, and Mexican-American women were 13 percent more likely to have it.

Body stature is determined by both environmental and genetic factors. Upper leg length is considered a marker for growth in childhood, especially before puberty, Asao said.

She said that while standing height is correlated with upper leg length, it is not linked to higher risk for diabetes or insulin resistance once other factors are considered.

"Upper leg length, more so than standing height, is a marker of growth specific to a certain time period of life," Asao said. "Much of the increase in leg length occurs after birth, during childhood."

Two previous studies in Europe that looked at overall leg length and stature found an association between shortness and a higher risk of developing diabetes and insulin resistance.

"This is the first study to examine this question in the U.S. population, and the first to concentrate on upper leg length," she said.

An outside expert said the study should not prompt people to get their thighs stretched, even if that were possible. He said the real problem isn't short thighs, it's wide ones. Obesity is the leading cause of diabetes.