Are Certain Body Shapes Healthier Than Others, And How Does My Waist Size Relate To My Health?

February 1, 2009 -- Question: Are certain body shapes healthier than others, and how does my waist size relate to my health?

Answer: Certain body shapes can be healthier than others, but it's most important whether or not you're overweight or underweight. Now overweight is not particularly healthy at all, but if you're overweight where your body stores its weight becomes very, very important. If you store your body fat in the upper body, around the belly area, for example, you're considered to have an apple shape.

If you store your body fat primarily in the hips and thighs, you're considered to have a pear shape. And this is all genetically determined. You cannot change your inherent body shape.

But you can do a few things to become more aware of where your body stores its target="_blank"and that can influence what steps you take to control your weight.

It's important to understand that body fat around the waist is associated with more chronic health problems especially hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. So keeping track of your waist size no matter what your weight is, is a good thing. It's important for men to keep their waist size below 40 inches. It's important for women to keep their waist size below 35 inches because below these limits you have a much lower risk of contracting the effects of heart disease, diabetes, and these other chronic health problems.