Body Shapes

You probably already have an inkling about where your body stores its fat. But if you’re overweight, it’s important to know how much of your excess padding consists of hazardous visceral fat. To get the final word, you’d need to scan an image of your body with a high-priced MRI machine. But even if you don’t have any hospital equipment in your basement, you can still look for a few clues, such as your belly width and body shape:

• Apple-shaped bodies have more fat around the abdomen and the chest.

• Pear-shaped bodies hold a lot of their extra fat on the outside—primarily around the thighs and bottom.

Although apple-shaped bodies have their share of subcutaneous fat, they’re more likely to store dangerous quantities of visceral fat. This makes sense if you remember where your body stores visceral fat—in the space around your abdominal cavity. As visceral fat plumps up, it pushes the rest of your body out, creating the distinctive apple shape. The following MRI scan reveals the inner world of fat.

Everyone has subcutaneous and visceral fat, no matter what their body type. Although the apple body shape is a warning flag, pears aren’t necessarily safe. Another worthwhile check for visceral fat is to measure your waist. If you’re a woman with a waist that measures 35 inches or more, or a man with a waist that’s 40 inches or more, you have a significantly higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.


Source of Information : Oreilly - Your Body Missing Manual