***Understanding your Body Composition

Are you a “ Pear “ or an “Apple”? This question may appear facetious. But understanding where you carry your body weight has significant impact on your health. Most people who have small waist tend to carry their weight below the waist such as in their hips, thighs and buttocks. They are the people who are referred to as “Pears”. The people who carry excessive fat in their bellies are referred to as “Apples”. So who are the Pears and the Apples? Generally speaking, women are traditionally classified as pears and men are more often classified as Apples. However, this concept varies from person to person. The knowledge to be taken away from this is that having excessive fat is never healthy. There are so many risks and predispositions to a wide variety of diseases that we all need to make informed and conscious decisions to lose fat and get in balance with healthy body composition. Having said that, a person who is apple-shaped is more susceptible to debilitating and more serious type of diseases such as diabetes. Some of these apple-shaped people have extra weight on the outside of their abdominal organs. This fat appears as rolls over the tops of their pants. While some have fat on the inside, surrounding the organs. For some people, they have both, outside, inside and surrounding the organs. Belly fat located under the abdominal tissue and surrounding the organs is considered very unhealthy because it can lead to fatty deposits on the heart causing it to restrict blood flow through a resistance from an external source. The fat from this source releases a variety of hormones, proteins and other fatty acids that can affect how full we feel after meals or lead to a host of diseases such as diabetes. Of course, research shown that two people with identical body weight, if one of them carries more of the weight around their midsection than on their lower body, that person is prone to a higher risk of heart disease. The question is what can you do to correct this dilemma if you have excess fat in the belly? If this is the case, get your body measured or tested with a reliable method of testing such as the use of Bio-impedance Analysis (BIA). You can also use a flexible tape measure to measure around your navel (belly button). The measure should be parallel to the ground. The higher the number, the more dangerous it is. Men who are Apples have a waist circumference equal to or more than 40 inches. For Women, their waist circumference is equal to or greater than 35 inches. It is advisable if you fall into these categories, take action in seeing your doctor or a medical practitioner about a safe and manageable healthy lifestyle that includes weight loss plan and physical activity. The good news is that people who are apples can break down their belly fat. This fat when broken down serves as fuel during weight loss or during exercise. Through these methods, body fat is reduced and more in line with getting a healthy body composition of lean tissue (muscles to fat). On the other hand, a lack of exercise causes the excess fat in the belly to deposit fat in the organs. Belly fat produces a number of hormonal signals that cause inflammation and damage cells in the body. The damage of cells has been linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. What Apples can do? An effective weight loss of five to ten percent based on regular physical activity has proven to be a good solution. Both a weight loss of five percent and ten percent have shown to reduce belly fat and risk of disease. What are the Pros and Cons for the Pears? In the Pear-shaped, fat is not readily broken down as the Apple. For these persons, fat loss is slow and lingering in their thighs and lower bodies. Notably, for them, they have lower risk of disease than the Apple type. Their fat is more protective in nature. However, if the Pear shaped person is obese or overweight reducing excess fat is necessary. In summary healthy body composition plays an integral part of health and fitness. Health and fitness is at the heart of every thing we do in our lives. It is the cornerstone of a well-balanced life. Take it to heart and know that there are plenty of small ways to incorporate wellness into your life. Make small changes, it is these small baby steps that you make over time that add up to big change. You have the power to make changes to live your best life through health and fitness.