Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
A study from Queen’s University in Canada confirms that
storing fat primarily in your belly, rather than your hips, increases
your chances of suffering heart attacks and diabetes (American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2004).
When you take in
more calories than your body needs, your liver turns them into
fat. People who store fat primarily in their bellies are called
"apples," while those who store fat primarily in their hips are
called "pears." Fat cells in your belly are different from those in
your hips. The blood that flows from belly fat goes directly to your
liver, whereas the blood that flows from your hips goes into your
general circulation. The livers of those who store fat in their
bellies are blocked from removing insulin by the extra fat and
therefore do not remove insulin from the bloodstream as effectively
as the livers of those who store fat in their hips and have less fat
in their livers. So "apples" have higher blood insulin and sugar
levels.
You need insulin to drive sugar from your bloodstream
into your cells, but insulin is also a harmful hormone because it
lowers blood levels of the good HDL cholesterol that prevents
heart attacks and raises blood levels of the bad triglycerides that
cause heart attacks. Being shaped like an apple and having a
beer belly increases your risk for a heart attack and diabetes.
People who store fat primarily in their hips and are shaped like
pears are less likely to have heart attacks.
February 1, 2006