What Is The Most Healthy Body Type, Apple Or Pear?

As far as fruit goes, apples are the number one choice of North Americans and pears are number ten. However, if you are considering body shape, then it is preferable to be a pear.

If you have a pear-shaped body, you are carrying excess body fat around your hips and buttocks. If, on the other hand, you have an apple-shaped body, you are carrying excess body fat around your abdomen, which can increase your risk for for several serious health conditions. This risk are the same for both sexes.

The problems related to being an apple-shaped individual are those related to obesity. These include cardiovascular disease, elevations in both blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, and the possibility of hormonal cancers such as breast cancer.

It is not the fat alone that causes the increased risks but the location of the fat. Even individuals who appear slim, may have excess abdominal fat. This fat surrounds the internal organs and is known as intra-abdominal fat. Woman who have a waistline of over thirty-five inches and men who have a waistline over forty inches will generally fall into the apple category.

The term metabolic syndrome is often used to describe a group of conditions which together put specific individuals at an elevated risk for developing such things as stroke, cardiovascular disease, and type two diabetes. There are several health risks which can lead to metabolic syndrome. These are excess body weight around the abdomen (apple-shape), elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, low good cholesterol, and high blood triglycerides. If you have three or more of these health risks, you are considered to have metabolic syndrome. While, all of these risks can lead to health problems, abdominal obesity, coupled with insulin resistance, presents the most danger.

Be aware that other factors such as age, diet, inactivity, and genetics always play a role in an individuals risk for specific conditions and diseases.

Even small changes in your lifestyle, can decrease your risk of developing metabolic syndrome, and so your risk for serious health conditions.

Begin and stick to healthy eating habits. Reduce your intake of saturated fats and increase your intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Cut out soft drinks and sweetened fruit drinks and substitute lots of plain water. Stop smoking. Incorporate aerobic activity into your every day life. Thirty minutes of aerobic activity per day can make a major improvement in one's health. A brisk walk is good aerobic activity and something that is easy to do every day of your life. Begin to build up muscle mass which will in turn burn up more calories that fat.

Begin your regime to improve you health by visiting your doctor for a complete check-up. This will let you know how serious your risk factors are, and clear you for undertaking a program of increased activity.

It is never to late to improve your health. Every day that you eat well and every day that you get your body moving more will decrease your health risks and move you away from the risks associated with being an apple.