Let’s talk fruit — in terms of body shape, that is. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic published a new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggesting that being “pear-shaped” (carrying more fat in the hips, buttocks and thighs) is associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events compared to those who are apple-shaped (having excess fat around the midsection). The study authors followed 15,000 patients from the U.S., Denmark, France and South Korea, and their results demonstrated that body fat distribution is a better prognosticator of cardiovascular mortality (death) than body mass index (BMI) in people with clogged or obstructed coronary arteries. In fact, people with normal BMIs but more belly fat were at a higher risk of dying compared to those with a larger waist-to-hip ratio. For women, a waist circumference greater than 35 inches is considered dangerous, while for men, the magic number is 40 inches, with an increase in risk associated with every added inch.
For ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, this is a bit of old news. “It’s been taught for decades that having an apple-shape puts people at an increased health risk compared to pear-shapes since the accumulation of abdominal fat is more dangerous as far as cardiovascular risk is concerned. Fortunately, it doesn’t take advanced diagnostic tools to come up with these numbers — all you need is a tape measure to simply calculate your waist circumference and know where you stand.”
ACSH’s Susan Ingber adds, “The reason for this is not known, but some experts theorize that belly fat in particular may be more of a risk factor because it is more metabolically active than fat elsewhere and may produce more changes in cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.”