Apple or pear body type? Getting to the bottom of the issue

Having a big butt, wide hips and full thighs is generally thought to come with a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and other health problems, while having a high proportion of belly fat increases that risk. We know this, right?

Still, the findings keep coming. A study published today in the International Journal of Obesity isn’t objectionable – fat deposited on the butt and thighs is a good thing – but still it makes me cringe.

“[I]n day-to-day metabolism,” the study observed, “[gluteofemoral fat] appears to be more passive than the abdominal depot and it exerts its protective properties by long-term fatty acid storage.”

I don’t mind the explanation about the benefits of the pear shape over the apple shape. And I generally don’t argue with the Department of Health and Human Services, which says that women with waists measuring more than 35 inches are at greater risk of “weight-related health problems.”

I do, however, take issue with the disproportionate focus on women’s bodies in this debate. Too much commentary involves posting a photo of some well-endowed starlet’s rear end.

Such obsessing about female body shapes doesn’t seem necessary -- or necessarily healthy for women. Especially since the really bad belly fat is not the love handles that inevitably mushroom over a pair of jeans, but visceral fat -- fat on the inside of the body, close to the organs, invisible to the naked eye. 

-- Amina Khan

Photo credit: Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Leigh]

What's even more frustrating is that you really can't do anything about WHERE fat is deposited. You can lose weight as I have and STILL have a large waist in relation to the rest of you. (I'm an apple.) Otherwise slender women often have big butts.

[Zelda P]

You are so right. I am a size 10 but have been told (by non health professionals) to lose weight because the fat in my belly is dangerous. I think it's because people aren't comfortable with my recent slight increase in size. I wish everyone was more accepting of some weight gain (especially with age) and a variety of women's body types.

ZP

[don keyhote]

......beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!....i say if you carry yourself with dignity,grace, use moderation in your diet and keep your health in the proper perspective with regards to your genetic make-up ....enjoy the excess weight... i happen to love corpulent woman.....!!!!

[Mestengo]

Apples, Pears, oh my.....

Who really cares, fat is fat. A self-indulgent cow walking on hind legs is still a beast with little personal discipline or self respect.

[pear shaped woman]

Is this an opinion piece? Why is it in health? Doesn't the author know that the the "pear shape" and "apple shape" fat distribution benefits are reversed in men? Men with apple shapes (beer bellies) are better off than men with big hips and thighs. This is opposite for women.

How do I know this? Because every article except this one that I have ever read on the issue focuses on both male and female body types. This one that complains about the focus on women is the only one I have ever read that leaves men out altogether.

If you don't want to live in a sexist world, don't perpetrate stereotypes while backhandedly pretending to be against them.

[anonymous too]

I agree our societies obsession with woman's bodies is fetishy at worst, knowing what type of body type one has and how it relates to ones health doesn't appear too out of line.

I for one prefer to have this knowledge because as a "pear shape," I have always had a slightly neurotic concern over my health in general and knowing this distinction has allowed me to relax a bit. Now, if I knew I was an apple shape and had extra pounds to worry about, I'm sure I would be using this information too to make relevant decisions about my health for that particular body type.

The body type issue here has to do specifically with fat deposits and the relation to body type to illness. Maybe by posing this 'revelation' as a gender neutral issue (I presume men can be apples or pears as well, posing the same basic health risks to them as well) may seem less directed at women thus seeming like another opportunity to beat up on women's physicality.

[Kevin]

"What's even more frustrating is that you really can't do anything about WHERE fat is deposited."

Sorry - You are wrong. If you want to decrease belly fat, do some situps. You have to work the muscles in the area that correlates with where the fat is. If all you do is walk all day, don't be surprise that you are an 'apple' because you work out your legs, but not the abs. Unless, you learn to walk/run while using your ab muscles - like athletes have trained themselves to do.