The Hour Glass Figure

http://www.thirdage.com/news/articles/ALT02/05/06/08/ALT02050608-01.html

An Hourglass Figure Is Good for You
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It will come as welcome news to thousands of women that fat stored around the hips and posterior can actually be good for you, scientists say.
The traditional hourglass figure made famous by Marilyn Monroe and recently revived by the pop star Jennifer Lopez can also prevent heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
But doctors warned women not to scrap the bikini diet just yet -- as excess fat around the stomach is still seen as a warning sign of health problems.
The study from the Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen is a classic case of apples-versus-pears.
According to the report, an "apple-shaped" woman with excess fat around the waist is likely to be less healthy than a curvaceous, "pear-shaped" woman.

This is because fat cells around the stomach pump out fatty acids to the blood much more readily than fat cells elsewhere, damaging the insulin system and raising the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
But a pear-shaped woman has fat stored around the hips, where it is more likely to produce adiponectin, a hormone which has anti-inflammatory effects and is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.
The study looked at more than 50,000 men and women of different shapes over a period of time to observe individual health responses.
The Danish researchers concluded that the ideal measurement for a woman is at least a size 14 with hips measuring 40 inches or more.
Berit Heitmann, a professor of nutritional epidemiology who led the study, said too little muscle tissue or too little fat tissue, or both, around the hips can greatly increase risk of heart disease.
She said, "Fat on the hips is different from fat on the abdomen. If you do not have enough of this fat, you may risk heart attacks."
And Dr Heitmann said the study applied to both men and women. She added, "It is not a question of having wide hips, it is a question of having hips that are not too narrow.
"If there is too little fat or muscle around the hips, there is a correlating risk of heart attack and dying prematurely."
Dr Heitmann said women in particular appear to be protected from heart problems through having tissue around the hips.
Dr David Haslam, the chairman of the British National Obesity Forum, said that while pear-shaped people were at a greater risk of arthritis due to carrying greater weight, they were healthier overall thanks to the anti-inflammatory substance being produced.
He added, "For apple-shaped people, their fat is buried deep inside. It releases damaging chemicals that take the place of anti-inflammatory substances."
Dr Christine Edwards, a senior lecturer in human nutrition at Glasgow University, said weight was not the important factor in judging good health.
She said, "It is not just standing on the scales. You can have people of the same weight but because one person stores that weight around their hips and another around the stomach, it may mean one is healthier. Men tend to store weight on their stomachs. That is the worst you can be. You really want excess weight distributed evenly around the body."
Dr Edwards recommended measuring the waist or Body Mass Index (BMI), to gauge a healthy weight.
Men should have waists measuring less than 37 inches and for women, 32 inches, while both sexes should have a BMI of under 25.
Dr Edwards said women were designed to have some fat stored for childbirth and lactating, so a curvy figure was nothing to worry about. But she urged people to keep a check on excess weight around the midsection or a BMI of more than 30, which is classified as obese.
Susie Whalley, the deputy editor of Zest magazine, said the study reflected a more healthy attitude towards women's curves, highlighting recent soap advertisements using full-figured models.
She said, "Women are constantly comparing themselves to celebrities and get so much telling them to be wafer-thin, [that] it is really good to see a study saying there are health benefits to being curvy." Source: The Scotsman. Powered by Yellowbrix. Want more women's health news? Subscribe to the ThirdAge Women's Health Insider.