Weight loss: Are You an Apple or a Pear?

It is healthy to eat apples but may be unhealthy to be shaped like one.

That warning from an ever-widening range of medical authorities looms large if you tend to store excess body fat primarily in your abdomen. Research indicates that people with the so-called "apple-shaped" body type have higher health risks than "pear-shaped" individuals, who have a smaller waist and heavy hips and thighs.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), a pot belly can make you more susceptible to high blood pressure, diabetes, lower levels of "good" cholesterol in the blood, and hardening of the arteries. "Pear-shaped people carry their extra weight below the waistline and don't seem to have as high a risk of developing the above conditions as 'apples' do," the AHA's Web site states.

Apples may look older
Health concerns aside, being apple-shaped makes you look considerably older and less healthy than you actually are, a 1999 study out of the United Kingdom found. Human nutrition researchers at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary asked 201 male and 161 female observers aged 28 to 67 to estimate the age of eight silhouette photographs of female volunteers with known body mass index (BMI) numbers and waist and hip measurements. The observers were also asked to judge the likelihood of the people pictured developing heart disease and other health problems.

"Overweight or central fat distribution and narrow hips suggest a person is older and has poorer health," the researchers wrote in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For example, people with a BMI of 29.7 appear to be 15 to 18 years older than those with a BMI of 22.2. Moreover, each extra centimeter on the waist makes women appear to look a year older and progressively less healthy, the researchers wrote, noting that the BMI and age of the observers had little influences on the findings.

The good news for "apples" is that abdominal fat tends to melt away faster than hip and thigh fat when people exercise regularly and reduce their fat and calorie intake, says Diane Rigassio, M.S., R.D., a clinical assistant professor at the School of Health-Related Professions at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey.

"Gynecoid (hip and thigh) fat is predominately found in women and may have to do with species preservation," Rigassio says "Calories get laid down in the lower body to store energy for childbirth and breast-feeding." Belly, or visceral, fat is more common in men and in post-menopausal women, she points out, adding that genetics and gender are thought to be the primary factors determining the body's fat-storage pattern.

What shape am I?
Some people can identify their body shape immediately by looking in the mirror. For others, the distinction is less obvious. "Apple" or "pear" body shapes can be determined by the waist-to-hip ratio. To calculate your ratio, carefully measure your waist circumference at its narrowest (across your belly button) and your hip circumference around the widest part of your buttocks. Then divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Keep your body relaxed while taking your measurements; sucking in your gut will skew the results.

According to the AHA, a healthy waist/hip ratio is 0.80 or below for most women and 1.0 or below for most men.

Can I change my shape?
A recent study indicates that health risks associated with apple-shaped bodies may begin long before the mid-life bulge. Children with a chubby belly have more heart-disease risk factors than their pear-shaped peers, according to researchers who looked at 127 boys and girls ages 9 through 17. The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found an association between greater upper body fat and higher levels of the blood fat, triglycerides, and lower HDL ("good") cholesterol. Also, systolic blood pressure--the upper number of a blood pressure reading--was highest in children with the most fat overall and in the apple-shaped youngsters.

"Where fat is distributed appears to be a more important influence on cardiovascular risk factors in young people than total fatness," says lead author Stephen R. Daniels, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and environmental health at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. "You can already see this relationship in children as young as 9 and even in kids who are not necessarily overweight at this stage."

Daniels said that researchers don't know whether an individual's fat distribution can be changed from the apple pattern to the pear pattern. Nonetheless, overall fitness definitely helps reduce cardiovascular risks regardless of body shape.