Table of contents:
- Am I an apple or a pear in shape?
- Why do women tend to have pear bodies, men tend to have apple bodies?
- Health effects based on body shape
- Are pears better in shape than apples?
A layer of fat is spread under the surface of the skin all over the body, and sometimes we can clearly see which part of the body has the most fat. In general, the body parts where fat is most noticeable are the stomach and the area around the thighs. Both are body parts that determine a person's body shape. The buildup that focuses on the upper part of the chest and abdomen will make our body look like an apple, while the accumulation of fat around the lower abdomen, thighs and buttocks will cause our body to look like a pear.
Am I an apple or a pear in shape?
The basic difference between apple and pear body shapes is which portion has the most distribution of fat, and how much fat is stored. To measure it, we need to use the ratio of waist to hip circumference. The method is quite simple, namely by measuring the circumference of the waist (between the ribs and navel) and the circumference of the pelvis (around the waist bone), then compare them. The value of the ratio will determine what body shape you have.
If your waist circumference is greater than your hip circumference, then you are more likely to have an apple shape. Conversely, if your waist circumference is less than your hip circumference, you are more likely to have a pear shape. Apple shapes tend to have a higher waist-to-hip ratio than pears. That means the accumulation of fat in the shape of the apple body will be more in the waist or around the stomach, which is closely related to central obesity.
Why do women tend to have pear bodies, men tend to have apple bodies?
The body has a way to determine the distribution of each fat, and one of the factors that influence it is hormonal factors. The simplest example of hormonal differences is in the individual male and female. Hormonal differences between the two cause women tend to have pear bodies and men tend to have apple shaped bodies.
The more male hormone testosterone allows the body to store less fat on the surface of the body. In addition, men do not have the hormone estrogen, so they have a smaller pelvic area. This is what causes fat in men to tend to be stored around the abdominal surface so that men tend to have a larger waist circumference.
The hormone estrogen will help women have a bigger pelvis for the needs of pregnancy and childbirth. This hormone also plays a role so that more body fat in women is stored around the pelvis. However, the pear body shape in women can change over time. When experiencing menopause, a woman's body will experience a lack of estrogen, so that more fat will be stored around the waist and cause more fat to accumulate in the upper body, making the body of women experiencing menopause usually become apple-shaped.
Health effects based on body shape
The pear shape is considered to have a healthier waist-to-hip ratio because it represents a smaller waist circumference and less fat accumulation. In general, the normal value for the waist to hip ratio is below 0.95 for men and below 0.86 for women. The smaller the ratio value, the better it is for health.
Central obesity in apple body shape was assessed as a more accurate predictor of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease than obesity based on body mass index. This is because the accumulation of fat in the abdomen and around the waist has a more significant adverse effect on health, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. In addition, the accumulation of fat around the stomach is more likely to be caused by an unhealthy lifestyle such as alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity.
Are pears better in shape than apples?
Both apple and pear shaped bodies are basically due to a buildup of fat. Especially for women, pear body shape is more ideal because it shows the body has stored food reserves needed to meet nutritional needs before pregnancy and during pregnancy. However, along with changes in the body after childbirth and menopause, it is better to control the accumulation of fat around the pelvis from an early age, because excess fat from around the pelvis will cause fat accumulation around the abdomen in menopausal women.
This does not mean that the body of pears will be free from various diseases, because most degenerative diseases have various risk factors, and the accumulation of belly fat is only one of the causes for a person to experience degenerative disease. One study (as reported by the NHS) shows that someone who has a normal waist circumference will still be at risk for various cardiovascular diseases if they have risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol levels.
Changes in body shape can occur at any time, if you have a body shape with a normal waist circumference but already experience high blood pressure and smoke at a young age, then you will still be at risk for various cardiovascular diseases.
Keep in mind that the body has its own way of distributing fat. The distribution of fat around the abdomen and waist tends to be relative and can change with age. Whatever your current body shape, maintaining body weight and accumulating body fat by adopting a healthy lifestyle is still necessary to prevent various degenerative diseases.
