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Issue 91: Too Much Junk in the Trunk?

Pear or apple?


Regardless of how you refer to them, have you ever considered the health implications of being either a pear or an apple? If not, then it’s time to take a look at what body shape may be worse for your health.


Savard sums it up this way: “Apple-shaped women, who gain weight around their middle, are more likely to develop disorders like heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer. Pear-shaped women, who add pounds around their hips, buttocks and thighs, are more susceptible to problems like osteoporosis."


To begin, just measure around the narrowest part of your waist to determine your waist circumference. Then measure around your hips--about three or four inches below your pelvis bone. Divide your waist circumference by your hip measurement to get your WHR. A WHR higher than 0.80 means you are apple-shaped. If your WHR is 0.8 or less, your body can be classified as pear-shaped.

The truth is that excess body fat is a health hazard, but even more threatening can be its distribution, with belly fat weighing in high as a risk for cardiovascular disease. In a study found in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that the fat deposited around organs (belly fat) and between muscles was directly connected to the amount of hard, calcified plaque present in the body.

And just in case you didn’t know, calcified plaque can pave the way to atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries, and can lead to heart disease, the leading cause of death for American men and women. Additionally, those who are apple-shaped are also more likely to develop diabetes, since belly fat reduces the body’s sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that helps maintain normal blood-sugar levels.


Here’s to losing that jelly belly.



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