'Spare Tyre' Might Protect Men During Car Accident

New research suggests that a few extra pounds can be good for you -- if you're male and unlucky enough to be in a car accident, that is.

Moderately overweight males are more likely to survive serious car accidents than either the thin or the very fat. Apparently, a bit of extra padding - but not too much - provides extra protection, according to the study.

The research suggests that there's "a threshold, a cut-off point," where overweight suddenly becomes dangerous instead of protective noted study lead author Dr. Shankuan Zhu, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

For reasons that aren't clear, women don't get the same protection from extra weight: Being fat, thin or in-between didn't affect their likelihood of dying in a car accident, the study found.