Is pear-shaped really better than an apple-shaped figure?
The location of your body fat makes a difference to your risk of heart disease. People with excess fat in their belly area (so-called “apple” shape) have a greater risk of developing and dying from heart disease than people who carry their weight in their hips and thighs (pear-shaped).32 To see if your weight puts you at risk for heart disease, you should measure the distance around your waist, at the level of your belly button.28 BMI tells you roughly how much fat you have on your body, but not where that fat is located. In the Nurses’ Health Study of more than 44,000 women aged 40 to 65 years, those who had a waist measurement of more than 38 inches were 3 times more likely to die of a heart attack or heart disease than women who had a waistline less than 28 inches.32 A waistline greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men increases the risk for having obesity-related risk factors and heart problems. However, these cutoffs may be too high for very short people (less than 5
