The Importance Of Knowing Your Waist To Hip Ratio
Waist to hip ratio is the best predictor of cardiovascular (heart) disease, even compared to body mass index (BMI). Two basic types of fat distribution exist in humans. They are commonly known as the apple and pear shapes.
The person with an apple shape fat distribution pattern collects fat on the chest and abdomen. Cortisol is thought to play a role in creating the apple shape. More cortisol is usually found in apple-shaped people. Men with pot bellies are a classic example of the apple shape, and it is men who normally have fat distributed this way.
Women, on the other hand, usually have pear-shaped bodies. Fat distribution in a person with a pear shape is throughout the hips and thighs. While this fat distribution pattern is less of a cardiovascular risk factor, people with pear shapes also have more eating disorders than those with apple shapes.
The apple-shaped person likely has (or will have) metabolic issues. Fiber is a good solution to help with this. The recommended daily intake of fiber for apple-shaped people is 34 grams.
As any pear-shaped woman will attest, it is harder to lose weight and much easier to gain weight. That is the flip side to the positive factors of lower heart disease risk of the pear fat pattern. The pear body type does lose weight best on a low-fat, low-calorie eating plan.
To measure waist to hip ratio you want to take your waist measurement in inches or centimeters. Next, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Men should have a waist to hip ratio of 1. 0 or less. Women should have a ratio of 0. 8 or less.
Reducing the amount of body fat may help you avoid such diseases as insulin resistance, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke) and sleep apnea. Fat loss also tends to increase the good HDL cholesterol and decrease the triglyceride level.
Let us take a look at some of the consequences of the diseases you can avoid by improving your waist to hip ratio.
If you have spent a lifetime overworking your pancreas it is eventually going to stop functioning correctly. When a person is insulin resistant, the pancreas is pushed to release extra insulin because the cells cannot accept the glucose the way they are supposed to. In the end, you find yourself with a diagnosis of type II diabetes.
Type II diabetes wreaks havoc on your body. The excess glucose floating around in the bloodstream of people with type II diabetes damages the blood vessels and arteries over time. Other complications of diabetes are kidney disease, erectile dysfunction, nerve damage, blindness and more.
Individuals with type II diabetes are more likely than non-diabetic people to have a stroke or develop another type of cardiac disease. The consequences of a stroke can be catastrophic. Paralysis and other life-altering results can occur.
In a heart attack part of the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and that part of the heart ends up dying. This obviously is not a good thing.
As you can clearly see, it is essential to find out your waist to hip ratio today. All of the diseases discussed above can be entirely prevented or delayed entirely. Chose to change and get your waist to hip ratio in line with the recommendations. Do not wait until your body forces you into it.
Learn more about your waist to hip ratio. Stop by Greg White’s site where you can find an easy to use waist to hip ratio calculator and many more interactive health tools.
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