Great News: July is 'Cankle Awareness Month'

Mrs. Clinton was unavailable for comment.

Still obsessing about how your dimpled thighs, jelly belly or flappy arms look in a swimsuit? That’s so last summer.

This year, there’s a new body part to fret over: the cankle.

Hmmm, you may be wondering, what’s a cankle? Gold’s Gym, which has designated July as “Cankle Awareness Month,” defines it this way: “The word comes from the combination of ‘calf’ and ‘ankle.’ It occurs when the calf merges with an obese or swollen ankle.”

Jason Alexander's jerk character in the movie “Shallow Hal” explains it best: "She's got no ankles. It's like the calf merged with the foot, cut out the middleman."

You know the look.

And as Gold's points out, summer, with its flirty skirts, strappy sandals and cropped jeans can be a tough time for the thick jointed.

“Cankles are the fastest growing ‘aesthetic affliction’ in the United States … even ahead of other bathing suit killers like Muffin Tops, Saddle Bags and Moobs,” says Gold’s new cankle Web site www.saynotocankles.com. “Millions of people across the country are currently affected by Cankles and millions more are ‘at risk.’ In fact, it is estimated that if current trends continue, by the year 2012 Cankles will surpass Love Handles as the number one aesthetic affliction in the world."

Hmm. We'll probably soon have federal legislation to fight off the dreaded cankles.