Let's start by talking about the difference between apples and pears (and I'm not referring to the fruits themselves). Apple body shapes are rounded, with a large proportion of body fat located in the abdominal area. Pears, on the other hand have a smaller waist, and more body fat located on the hips, thighs and butt.
Which one is healthier?
The pear. Pear body shapes have a lower risk of heart disease, obesity, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, the list goes on. It is much healthier (girls listen up) to have a larger butt measurement than your waist measurement. In fact studies have shown that a greater ratio between the two is associated with better health!
What is a healthy waist measurement?
If you have a tape measure nearby, I want you to take it out and measure your waist so you can see for yourself how you are tracking. Take the tape measure and place it around your abdominal region. Your waist is the skinniest part.
A healthy waist should be:
< 80cm for females
< 94cm for males
How did you go?
We did this activity in the office recently for National Safe Work Week. I left my healthy waist tape measure sitting in the lunch room, and sent an email around to everyone to say they were welcome to give it a go. I told them that the green zone = healthy waist, the red zone = increased risk of chronic disease. It sure got people interested! I had people coming up to me all day long proud and excited that they were in the green (healthy waist) zone. There was also the odd "Hmmm, that's gotta be wrong!" comment. All in all it was a great exercise in the workplace to promote waist measurement as a good indicator of health.
Being too thin
There is also the other side of the story which we often forget about. The obesity epidemic is a media favourite at the moment, however there are also many people out there on the opposite side of the scale that are very underweight. A common misconception, particularly amongst teenagers, is that being ultra thin is beautiful, and we should all look like the size zero celebrities because that's normal.
It's not.
Being underweight is just as bad and dangerous as being overweight. There are just as many health risks associated with being underweight. Just like being obese can significantly increase your risk of a cardiac event, being underweight holds the same risks.
If you suspect you may be underweight, work out your Body Mass Index or BMI by taking your weight in kgs, and dividing it by your height in metres squared.
For example you may be 60kg, with a height of 1.8m.
60 / (1.8 x 1.8) = 18.5
If you have a BMI of less than 18.5 you are underweight and are at risk of malnutrition and associated health problems. Dairy Australia's healthy waist tape measure also recommends to seek medical advice if your waist is <60cm for females and <69cm for males.
To sum up, a healthy waist is a good indicator of health. If your waist is too large or too small, it is important to seek advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), the experts in food and nutrition.
To find an APD go to www.daa.asn.au and click on 'Find an APD'. You can even do a suburb search so you can find an APD in your area.
And don't forget, pear body shapes are much healthier than apples!
0 comments:
Post a Comment