Body-Type Guesswork Might Have Been Right:
Apparently, “Thick Thighs Save Lives”, isn’t just the (kinda-NSFW) Instagram-stunner’s favorite cheeky retort. -It’s actually true.
So: Over time people have gone from the days of Titian when fat was rad, because it meant you actually had food, to something less desirable today.
And on that road, people started to describe horoscope-like body-types, such as Apples or Pears, to guess their potential health issues.
New research is showing their ideas were good; especially about men. And it all comes down to what you can see, versus what you can’t…
Fat Kills. And We’re Learning How:
Now as we’ve told you before, some of those branches of health-science have found that fat doesn’t just sit there, it’s not inert.
It also does not regulate itself to slow down biochemical production in the presence of more total bodyfat.
And in this arms-race, there are 2 general types of bodyfat: Visible (or subcutaneous) & Visceral. -Which gives a whole new perspective on “The Old Spare Tire”.
Visible is the kind that sits just under your skin and just on-top-of the muscle. Like Amanda Lee’s thick thighs.
Dad-Bod, Beware! Visceral Fat Is The Man-Killer:
The other stuff, Visceral, is the kind that can hide; -Inside- your body.
One guess where…
And another guess who is afflicted with this type the most…
Yup. The Old Spare Tire comes back to roost. And it’s here to take your life.
Two of the more terrible things it does are:
1) The aforementioned excess of hormones,
and 2) Internal Visceral Fat overheating your internal organs,
-Which also causes lots of inflammation, generally pisses them off & ruins body-chemistry.
Visceral Ab-Fat’s Deadly Venoms:
And BONUS!, 3) It turns out Abdominal Fat is also The Most Active Type when it comes to churning out extra hormones. Especially ones that end up lowering your metabolism, insulin-sensitivity and testosterone, ironically enough!
For some strange reason people in these studies who stored fat around their hips and thighs did not have the same mortality risk.
-Which for the people with those pot-bellies was about TWICE the normal risk.
-And Mystifyingly, even people who even had normal BMIs & were not considered generally Obese had that higher-risk, too.
BMI Is No Guarantee. Low BMI With High WHR Still Most Deadly:
You CAN actually be thin but not fit; and researchers are discovering BMI is no guarantee of good health.
There was such a correlation between a larger waistline full of abdominal fat and mortality in the studies, that the researchers went on to make their own slightly-newer version of the BMI that takes into account waist-size.
-A development which should please many weightlifters, who’ve unfairly been dinged on the BMI scale because of their heavy-yet-healthy increased mass.
Women Still Fared Better Than Men In The Danger Zone:
But either way the effect was so strong for men, even regular-BMI non-obese women with large waist measurements only had about a 32% increased-risk.
So when have you entered The Danger Zone?
For men, the general area is about 38-40 inches in your waist, and for women, that number is 35 inches.
This can also be expressed in a Waist-Hip-Ratio of about 0.9 for men and 0.85 for women.
But All Is Not Lost According To Mayo Docs:
One of the few calming facts is that Visceral fat is fairly easy to lose, even if the external spare tire isn’t.
Getting a good idea of how many calories you’re supposed to have each day and creating some kind of deficit, usually through exercise is pretty-much the standard-accepted way to do this.
Not that Obesity is a health-issue to be dismissed lightly either, but if you do have a large waist measurement, several studies suggest you should modify your diet and exercise to do whatever you can to start whittling it down, and keep those changes doable so they can be permanent instead of temporary.
Check out the rest of the details at the Links:
Photo Credits: Photo “Gabi”, by Earl McGehee
Links:
• Source: Mayo News Network
• via: Forbes
• More Coverage: MayoClinic-Belly fat in men: Why weight loss matters
• Source Study: Normal-weight central obesity and cardiovascular mortality risk in the US population [PDF]
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