Why should you care more about your waist size than your body mass? | Mirror

7/3/2023–|Last update: 8/3/202303:53 PM (Makkah)

Most women seek to get rid of the pear body shape, so they hate the large hips and thighs, without realizing that this body protects them from heart disease and diabetes.

Which is better: pears or apples?

Male bodies are usually apple-shaped, centered white fat cells In the abdominal area, and often infiltrate the internal organs, such as the liver and abdominal cavities, but there is another type of fat cells that give the body a pear-shaped shape, and it is common among women, so that women appear thin from the upper part and full in the lower part.

These cells take a yellow color, mix with white fat cells, and settle under the skin of the arms, hips and buttocks.

Researchers at the College of Medicine at Augusta University in Georgia have been interested in separating yellow fat cells from white fat cells since 2015.

The researchers performed surgeries on mice that were injected with genes that redistribute fat in their bodies. And those genes turned fat cells into visceral fat in the abdominal area, and when mice ate a diet rich in fat, they developed diabetes in less time than mice that ate the same food, but the fat accumulated in the thighs.

Male bodies usually resemble an apple, so fat cells are concentrated in the abdominal area, and the pear shape is common among women (Shutterstock)

In the second phase of the study, the researchers injected obese mice with yellow fat that settled under the skin, and their metabolism actually improved within a few weeks.

On the other hand, reach researchers 2021 indicates that white fat cells in the abdominal area store triglycerides and release them into the blood, increasing inflammation associated with brain damage, and eventually dementia. Yellow cells are filled with mitochondria, and they burn sugars and fats to generate energy.

The following year, the researchers conducted experiments on male and female mice to determine whether female hormones or the distribution of body fat caused males of all ages to be more at risk of inflammation, such as stroke and heart attack, while females were less susceptible to these injuries. before menopause.

The researchers injected female mice with visceral fat, and they ate a high-fat diet. Months later, the female brains showed inflammation similar to the male encephalitis.

It was published by the American Diabetes Association. a report The study, last December, and the results caused a stir, because it changed the prevailing belief that the estrogen hormone is the reason for protecting females from diabetes and strokes, which means that the cause of these diseases is the nature of the distribution of body fat, not hormones.

The scale will not work for you

The body composition analyzer (InBody) is used to identify the percentage of body fat in all parts of the body, while the danger lies mainly in the fat of the chest and abdomen area in particular.

I have linked American Heart AssociationIn 2018, the risk of heart attacks increased with abdominal circumference compared to hip circumference, not with general obesity, especially among women.

The association reviewed studies that lasted for 6 years, to which 480,000 men and women underwent, and the review revealed that 20% of women, with an ideal body mass index, are exposed to heart attacks, if the sum of dividing the circumference of the abdomen by the circumference of the hips exceeds 1, which is a new confirmation of the danger Increased waist circumference, compared to the circumference of the thighs.

Conscience American Heart Association, in 2020, among women suffering from high body fat mass, and divided them into two groups, the largest percentage of fat is concentrated in the legs in the first group, while the fat is concentrated in the circumference of the abdomen in the second group. While both groups had general obesity, the risk of developing high blood pressure was reduced by 53% among women with stockier legs.

Although the results of studies confirm the danger of abdominal fat, this does not make thigh fat a blessing. If a woman with a pear body follows a diet rich in fat and becomes obese, the protective powers of yellow fat cells will decrease, and white fat cells will increase, and thus, You may have dementia or a stroke.

20% of women with an ideal BMI are at risk of heart attacks (Shutterstock)

Can the danger be avoided?

Genes are responsible for the distribution of body fat, and determine the placement of cells and organs in the developing fetus. And he found out a team Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute that fat cells are pre-programmed. Therefore, belly fat and thigh fat are genetically destined for their final location, before the baby is born.

This prevents the chances of changing your body shape to the pear shape, but you still have an opportunity to avoid the dangers of belly fat, through some tips:

• may be associated thigh circumference The older one is in better overall health, but still Reducing body weight The best recipe for good health is eating fewer calories and doing more intense exercise.
• Evidence suggests that we can increase brown-yellow fat cells by exposing ourselves to cold temperatures for several hours a day, by turning down the air-conditioning in rooms, or taking cold showers.
• Use the BMI to protect your health from the dangers of general obesity, but always keep your abdominal circumference less than your hip circumference. Abdominal circumference in centimeters divided by hip circumference should be less than 1.
• Avoid foods rich in fat, if your body tends to the shape of an apple, even if your weight seems acceptable, or if you had liposuction.