Muffin tops and saddle bags are bad enough, but now Gold’s Gym says the fastest growing “aesthetic affliction” in the United States is something called cankles. Gold’s says there are millions of people suffering from cankles, millions more are “at risk” and if current trends continue, by the year 2012 cankles will surpass love handles in unappealing body fat.

So what is a cankle? The word comes from the combination of “calf” and “ankle.” It occurs when the calf merges with an obese or swollen ankle, so that there is no clear demarcation between the two. If you want to know more than that, check out Gold’s Gym website saynotocankles.com.  

“If you or a loved one is suffering Cankles…we are here to provide the support you need,” says Gold’s. “Together, we can put an end to Cankles.”

How does the gym propose to do that? Well, for starters it’s offering a seven-day free trial of “Canklebusting.”

The website also offers workout, diet and even style tips. For example, it advises to buy pants in soft fabrics like cotton or poly blends that drape loosely around the ankle. “Skinny jeans, which bunch at the ankle, are a no-no,” it says. It also suggests wearning cropped or slightly tapered pants that cuff just past the fullest part of the ankle and to avoid shoes with ankle straps.

To look your best at the gym “Wear bright sneakers to draw attention away from the ankle. Sports socks that reach only to the rim of the sneaker will create longer leg lines.”

If you want to invest in those styles, you can even go to goldsgear.com, which the gym chain  describes as the official online site of Cankle Awareness Month.

And if you’d rather not think of cankles at all, you can go to the site and vote for the celebrities you think have the best legs.