Why does shape matter?
Increasingly, scientific study of body shape shows that whilst being overweight is certainly bad for your health, it may not matter where that weight is held. It had been thought that fat stored centrally was worse than fat distributed elsewhere, such as on the arms or hips, but recent evidence now suggests there is an increased risk if you're overweight or obese, no matter what your shape.
Being overweight or obese puts you at greater risk of many diseases, including:
So, whatever your shape, if you're overweight it will affect your health.
However, there are lifestyle factors which may affect how energy is used and fat is stored, which you can change to reduce your risk of disease.
This content was reviewed by Dr Gill Jenkins in March 2011.
Genetics, gender and age
Your body shape is partly determined by genetic tendencies. You can’t
change your inheritance pattern of height and build and you can’t change the
fact that women tend to be more pear-shaped with bigger hips, whilst men tend to
be an upside down triangle-shape and develop a ‘gut’ when they put on
weight. For both men and women, storing fat centrally is particularly unhealthy.
Unfortunately ageing also tends to lead to a slightly bigger waistline, even if
your weight stays the same, so it’s important to start dealing with the
problem before this happens.
The chart has been developed to allow for the difference between male and
female shapes, so, after you have entered your gender, the ratio you get accurately
indicates the risk level you're at. Also, as it's possible to carry fat centrally
as well as on your hips such that, although the ratio is normal, you actually have
fat in both places, it's best to look at waist to hip ratio and BMI together.
Activity and exercise
Both your general level of activity and also specific types of exercise can affect
your fat deposition and distribution. Even without targeting specific muscles or
taking up a sport, if you simply increase the amount you do, such as walking or
cycling instead of taking the car or bus, or using the stairs instead of the lift,
you will help your body to avoid building excess fat stores, including abdominally.
Additionally, sports such as swimming, racquet or ball sports all help cardiac
health, burn off calories and tone muscles throughout the body. To maintain a firm
abdomen and so reduce your girth to a degree, specific exercises will tighten the
core abdominal wall muscles but if your body is still storing fat, that will continue
internally behind the abdominal wall. Our healthy living guide can give you some ideas for increasing your fitness levels.
Healthy eating and reducing alcohol
A healthy diet which includes a balance of food groups, vitamins and minerals,
is essential for a long and active life. On a very simple level, body weight and
shape are a balance of energy intake (dietary content) against output (activity and exercise level). Many studies have shown that, to slowly and steadily
lose weight, any diet which includes a healthy balance will work if you're
motivated. Ideally a low fat, high fibre diet is best but low calorie diets,
low-carb diets, meal replacement diets or simply reducing portion size will work as
long as, at the end of the day, you're not taking in too much energy for your
body’s particular needs. Generally, to lose 1lb/week you need to take in 500
calories less every day.
Heavy alcohol intake is not good for health in many ways. With regards to weight
and shape, alcohol has nearly as many calories as dietary fat (7kcal vs 9kcal per
gram) and can be a huge source of hidden calorific intake which people often ignore.
Alcohol can affect the liver both from its toxic effect and, if it's stored as fat
resulting from excess calories, it can cause the liver to enlarge and increase
abdominal girth. Reducing your alcohol intake will help you to lose weight and may,
in particular, reduce your waist size.