Your body fat can reveal hidden truths about your health. In part II, let’s determine the shape and structure of your body in relation to your health and longevity By Vinita Alvares Fernandes
So now that we know how healthy our body weight is in relation to health and the measurements of your shoulders, chest and hips. Let’s determine the shape and structure of your body in relation to your health and longevity.
Match Your Shape:
The hourglass: If you have shoulders and hips that are around the same size or within 5 percent of each other, with a very defined waistline.
The inverted triangle: If you have shoulders or bust are larger than your hips.
The triangle: If you have is hips that are wider than your shoulders.
The rectangle: If you have shoulders, bust and hips around the same size, with no defined waistline.
The diamond: If you have broader hips than shoulders, a narrow bust, and a fuller waistline, you may carry a little more weight in your upper legs. You may also have slender arms.
Match Your Structure:
The Ectomorph type: has a narrower frame, thinner bones, smaller joints and may be flatter in the chest and butt. This could be because your body often processes food quickly, which makes it harder to build muscle and though you may look skinny and find it hard to put on weight, you can have more body fat than you think, especially as you age.
The Endomorph type: has more body fat and muscle, smaller shoulders, shorter limbs and larger bone structure. You may gain weight easily, especially in your lower belly and hips and find it harder to lose probably because your body is more likely to store “high carb” foods as fat instead of burning them.
The Mesomorph type: has an athletic, strong build with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and low body fat, you’re naturally strong and lose and gain weight easily.
Isolated problem areas: Apart from over all body structures, we do tend to have isolated problem areas, like heavy arms, a ‘beer belly’, a thick waist or extra fat in the hip and thigh area.
In relation to your health, what is your body shape and structure saying to you?
The placement of your body fat can reveal hidden truths about your health.
Heavy arms: A study of figuring out body composition for 4,000 men between ages 60 and 79, found that along with slimmer waists, bigger arms seemed to predict longer life and better health. Those who had larger mid-arm muscle measurements lived longer.
Heavy thighs: Scientists studied about 3,000 adults for more than 12 years and found those whose thighs measured less than 24 1/2 inches were more likely to have heart disease and other health problems. Whether the people’s thighs were larger because of fat, muscle, or both, all that was said was that they were better off.
Thick waist: How much fat you have around your belly can tell you your odds for health problems, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, 35 inches or more is a sign of too much belly fat. In men, it’s 40 inches. These numbers may vary slightly if you have a very large body size.
Below the pecs or breasts: A roll of fat under the bra line or beneath your pectoral muscles could be a sign that it’s time to give your liver a rest. Your liver works on the most toxic substances in your body, so control alcohol and processed foods to reduce stress on the liver.
Belly fat: Of all of these problem areas, belly fat is the one with the most concern for health and longevity.
In part III get to know about how dangerous belly fat can be to your health and eating habits that will help you gain a healthy body shape.
