Most people have heard of the "apple" and "pear" body types. Those who are "apples" carry a greater amount of fat around the middle and above the waist, while those who carry more fat below the waist, in the hips and thighs, are dubbed "pears." But far from being just a Trivial Pursuit question, the apple shape has for years been thought by medical professionals to be an indicator of risk for insulin resistance, hypertension and heart disease.
Until recently, it was not entirely understood why belly fat poses a higher risk for these health problems. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest that belly fat, and more importantly "deep" belly fat found within the abdomen around the organs—secretes high levels of an inflammatory molecule called interleukin-6 into the portal vein, which is a blood vessel that carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver.
For some years now, medical professional have known that inflammation plays a role in certain heart problems and insulin resistance, among other health problems, but the mechanism of the inflammatory process has not been well understood.
So, if you tend to be an apple, what can you do? Doctors suggest that women should strive for a waist measurement of no more than 31.5 inches; for men, waist measurement should not exceed 37. Waist to hip ratio (calculated by dividing the waist measurement by hip measurement) should be below .8 for women and .1 for men.