Different Body Shapes, Does it Matter?
 
When it comes to your health it is important to know your body shape.  In fact, when it comes to your health, knowing your body type is just as important, if not more, than knowing your family history.  Not only does where we carry our weight determine our body shape it is also a key factor in determining possible health risk.

The woman with an apple shaped body tends to put weight on in her mid section.  She will have very shapely legs, narrow hips, and larger breast.

The woman with a pear shaped body tends to put weight on around
her hips, bottom and thighs. Her upper body will be relatively smaller.
She will have narrow shoulders, smaller breast and a well defined waist.
 
Medically it is important to realize that not only does the apple shaped and pear shaped woman look different, they are different. They even produce different types of fat. The shape of your body and the type of fat your body produces can be a determining factor as to whether or not you are a good candidate for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Osteoporosis or even breast cancer. 
 
Women who are shaped like an apple tend to have fat that promotes heart disease and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. This fat is known as visceral fat, this is fat that is stored between internal organs.
 
Women who are shaped like a pear has fat that is called subcutaneous fat. This is fat that is stored underneath the skin. This type of fat actually helps protect against heart disease.
 
Another big difference between the apple and pear shaped woman is that the apple shaped woman has a decreased glucose tolerance, and the pear shaped woman has a more steady tolerance to glucose. 
 
Weight Matters or Does it?
 
It is important to realize that no matter what your body shape is, if you are over weight, you are putting your self at risk for serious illnesses, but even more importantly than your “weight” is the size of your waist. This is even true for pear shaped women.
 
Ideally a woman should have a waist circumference of around 30 or below, but if your waist is larger than 35 inches it is a good idea to focus on getting that number down. When it comes to your health, it is more important to focus on the numbers on your tape measurer than it is the numbers on your scale.
 

So what body shape is at greater risk? Well that depends…
 
Apples tend to be at risk for the following health issues.
  • Heart Disease
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Breast Cancer
  • Endometrial Cancer
  • Irregular menstrual cycles
 
Pears tend to be at risk for the following health issues.
  • Stronger Menopausal Symptoms
  • Osteoporosis
  • Eating Disorders
  • Varicose Veins
  • Low Self-esteem
 
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