DEAR READERS: Many of you responded about the mature woman who felt like giving up because she was overweight. This particular letter has details that may inspire those of you who need a little push.

DEAR HARRIETTE: Id like to add to your response to Overweight. She didnt state her age, but lamented it could be too late in life to lose weight. Id like to challenge that idea. I gained 70 pounds with my pregnancy at 33 and lost only 10 to 15 pounds giving birth and nursing. Im 5 feet, 2 inches tall and got up to 186 pounds, which I carried for years, well into my 50s. About 15 years ago, I had a bad ankle break that required surgery. In the hospital they tested my A1C and said I was at risk for Type 2 diabetes, which terrified me. I was at least 55 at this point.

While still bedridden, I massively altered my eating, adding more complex carbs (such as a small amount of rice and beans twice a day) and eating four smaller meals per day. I was still getting no exercise, as I couldnt put any weight on that ankle. This was enough to improve my A1C, but at 160 pounds, I was still obese. I kept that weight off for five years or so, but I didnt lose any more. I was overjoyed that I didnt gain it back. If I added a few pounds for a month or more, I would cut the sweets out of my diet until it was gone. I was vigilant.

At this point, I rejoined a gym and got regular exercise back into my life, and after another year or so, I was ready to attack my weight again. Over the next year to 18 months, I lost the rest of the weight, another 30-plus pounds, and I now maintain a weight of 130 to 135 pounds in my 60s.

Of course, this story doesnt expose how difficult this was and how important it was to make incremental but sustainable changes. Lots of people find it discouraging to take such a long, slow journey to permanent weight loss. I hadnt expected to be able to lose over 50 pounds, ever, much less to keep it off, but I did.

I cant really say why I was able to succeed when so many others fail. Maybe because I grew up eating home-cooked whole foods and kept that up my entire adult life. I never drink soda, never went on a fad diet, and consume very little alcohol, but I do love ice cream and homemade cakes and pies! If its in the house, even now, I eat it up quickly. Thankfully, I can control myself in the grocery store, and I give myself monthly treats.

Too, I have generally been more active than most and, over the years, would go to a gym for a year or two and then slack off for a few years. But Ive always loved feeling strong and was always a walker. This may have made it easier for me to commit to regular exercise.

But I did lose all this weight after 55, most of it after age 60, after carrying the weight for over 15 years. You can do it. Take it slow. Total denial isnt sustainable. Keep moving your body. Age doesnt have to be the determinant. Victorious

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

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HARRIET COLE: It's never too late to start losing weight - Goshen News

If you want to lose weight quickly and effectively, then there are some things that need to be done on a daily basis. It includes things like regular exercise, healthy diet, good sleep, avoiding sugar. You are going to tell about some such steps which need to be adopted on a daily basis for effective and continuous weight loss.

Lifestyle needs improvement to lose weight in a healthy way. To reduce weight continuously, you also need a sustainable approach along with reducing calorie intake.

Eat only homemade foodTo lose weight, you should eat nutritious homemade food. Use fresh vegetables and fruits and avoid processed, packaged and junk food as much as possible. Use healthy oil like cooking coconut, mustard, olives. Whenever you want to eat junk food or your favorite food, cook it at home instead of eating outside.

Eat less and slowlyWhile eating food, eat it slowly and chew properly. Eat only half the amount of hunger you feel. If you are eating desserts, take it only in small amounts.

Exercise and Physically ActivenessIf you are not physically active throughout the day, then exercising one hour a day will not give you good results to lose weight. Try to complete 10,000 steps in a day.

Keep the stress awayIf you take stress then the weight does not decrease. Stress can increase the projection of cortisol. High levels of cortisol can cause weight gain. Meditation, exercise, listening to music, balance diet and sound sleep can help to regulate cortisol production and reduce stress.

It is necessary to sleep wellGetting good sleep is important not only for weight loss but also for a healthy immunity. If you are not sleeping well, you may feel tired throughout the day. Get good sleep for six to eight hours every night and if you are not able to do it, then pay attention to it.

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Health Tips: Take care of these 5 things, you will get more help in losing weight - Pledge Times

New Delhi Everyone wants to reduce their increased weight. At the same time, everyone tries to lose weight by adopting different methods. Some people also make very difficult diet control rules to reduce their weight. At the same time, some people give importance to protein in their diet. At the same time some nutritionists believe that by reducing carbohydrates from your diet, control of increasing weight can be found.

Actually most people reduce their carbohydrate intake first to lose weight. Carbs have always been reported to be bad for health and a primary cause of weight gain. However, it would be wrong to avoid carbs altogether, as they help maintain our digestive health and provide energy, without which weight loss becomes a distant dream.

Most people are quite afraid of including carbs in their diet. Because of this, it has also given rise to a lot of rumors. One of the most common of these is that avoiding carbs after lunch can help in losing weight quickly.

Carbs are not bad for health

Carbs are an important macronutrient that our body needs to produce energy. When we think of carbs, we mostly focus on pasta, rice and chapati. But fruits, vegetables and nuts are also good sources of carbs. Some nutritionists believe that the use of a healthy version of carbs does not cause weight gain. At the same time, taking them helps in keeping the intestines healthy.

At the same time, there is no concrete evidence that supports that avoiding carbs after 3 pm can help you achieve your weight loss goals faster. It all depends on how many calories you take in a day and what kind of foods are included in your diet. If you are eating unhealthy sources of carbs, it will be very difficult to lose weight.

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Mental Health: These tips can be helpful in combating depression, know what are its major symptoms

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Weight loss: will it help to stop the consumption of unhealthy carbohydrates after lunch - Pledge Times

Counteract your sedentary lifestyle by incorporating micro-movements throughout the day. In other words, try to increase your daily step count. Get up and move for at least ten minutes every hour. Consider parking further away from the storefront or taking the elevator instead of the stairs. These micro-movements contribute to your NEAT Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, A.K.A, every move you make that isnt exercising. In other words, moving even the slightest bit more can make a big difference over time.

As mentioned before, weight gain is not synonymous with fat gain. If your new workout routine incorporates resistance and strength training, youll start to build muscle.

Its a myth that muscle weighs more than fat; five pounds is five pounds, whether its muscle, fat, feathers, or rocks. However, muscle is denser than fat, meaning more muscle fits in less space. As you start to build muscle and lose fat, the scale might stay the same.

If youre incorporating strength training into your workout routine, consider using other metrics to track your progress. Rather than using the scale which cant differentiate between fat, muscle, and water use progress photos, measurements, and how your clothing feels on your body.

If fat loss is your goal, its worth incorporating strength work into your exercise routine and shifting your mindset about numbers on the scale. Maintaining muscle burns more calories than maintaining fat as a part of your baseline TDEE. In other words, simply having more muscle will burn more calories even when you arent working out.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to weight loss, beyond eating less and moving more. Before you start cutting out food groups or paying for the next fad diet, consider evaluating the different variables on this list to determine whether theres an underlying issue.

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11 Things That Could Be Impacting Your Weight - Longevity LIVE - Longevity LIVE

Losing belly fat may seem like an insurmountable goal that is almost impossible. Even countless hours of workouts don't seem to yield the desired results with the fat around our gut. Many have given up because it has seemed so hard. However, it's crucial that we focus on this area, as it is one of the most dangerous places to store fat in the body. Let's take a look at this area of our body and the work we can do to condition it.

According toHarvard Health, there are two kinds of fat in your stomach. Subcutaneous fat is the soft layer that sits just under the skin, and it is generally the less harmless kind. Visceral fat is the stuff we can't see. This fat is below the surface and forms around internal organs. Visceral fat has been proven to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. This unattractive fat is circulating your bloodstream putting you at a greater risk for many illnesses. Unfortunately, belly fat can be one of the hardest types of fat to get rid of. Even when we are exercising and doing things the right way, it can seem like the stubborn fat around our gut is holding on for the long haul.

If you have tried to lose belly fat, you've probably noticed that weight loss doesnt get rid of it completely. At the same time, however, doing continuous targeted exercises like crunches or situps for hours doesn't yield the belly fat burn either. Authors atTime Magazinesuggest that our age, workout routine, alcohol intake, stress, and diet can all be contributing factors as to why we have trouble with fat loss at the midsection. The key is to combine effective sets of exercises with the right nutrition. Fitwirr is a health and fitness website that provides all kinds of tips and tricks forwhat exercise burns the most belly fat. The consensus is that sculpted abs are not just a dream and that we can burn belly fat. Here are a few abdominal exercises that can do the trick.

If you want to burn belly fat, you have to use your entire body. Sculpting abs takes more than just abdominal work. This is a fast-paced exercise that entails going from a push-up stance to a jump in the air and then back again. This training hits every muscle from head to toe. 10 fast-paced reps are just as effective as a 30-second all-out sprint. Burpees can help burn your belly fat faster than you ever dreamed.

The mountain climber is almost like a moving plank exercise. This can be an intensive cardio core workout. You perform a mini crunch and quickly draw one knee into your chest at a time. This is such a powerful exercise because your core has to work intensively to keep your body stable and straight while you move your legs. That excess belly fat will be history before long.

The kettlebell swing could be one of the best calorie-burning moves ever. To move the heavy iron ball around you need to use fat-burning muscle groups like your glutes, hips, and quads. The movement of the kettlebell back and forth increases your heart rate right away and targets your core.

Using a medicine ball may seem too simple to work at first, but the power and velocity behind this exercise can elevate your heart rate and burn major belly fat. The medicine ball slam requires the use of all the muscles between your neck and your hips to work together. If you step-up the routine and throw the ball faster with more power and velocity, you can elevate your heart rate and burn even more fat.

Lifting a dumbbell and doing a lunge at the same time can be a serious core sculptor. With every rep you do, all of the muscles in your torso will work together to keep core tight and weight in place. This move also uses your back and butt which will also help because hunched shoulders and weak glute muscles also contribute to stomach fat.

With these exercises that use your whole body, belly fat will be a thing of the past. Combined with some commitment and a healthy diet, your stubborn belly fat will not stand a chance.

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5 Effective Exercises That'll Help You Shed Belly Fat Fast - Texas A&M The Battalion

There are many different types of weight loss surgery that meet the different needs of people looking for surgical interventions for their weight

A nip and tuck here and there is not out of place in celebville. Whether its a mommy makeover or a health intervention weight loss surgery is growing in popularity.

Snap-back culture is slowly being torn apart by women who refuse to participate in the maintenance of unrealistic expectations that a woman should snap-back to her pre-baby weight and shape soon after giving birth.

Kim Kardashians weight during her pregnancy with her daughter North had tongues wagging. The star is known for her tiny waist and bounteous curves is said to have snapped-back with the help of a plastic surgeon and some liposuction.

READ MORE: What Kim Kardashian-West eats every day

Women arent the only ones going under the knife; many men also get a nip and tuck here and there like Kims husband Kanye West.Kanye shared his battle with opioid addiction after his liposuction surgery with TMZ Live, admitting he felt under pressure to lose weight quickly when he married Kim Kardashian.

Gabourey Sidibe blasted into stardom as Precious in the movie Precious. She was heavily criticised for her appearance and her weight. It was only after she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that she decided to get a surgical intervention.Gabourey told People Magazine that she had been working out with a trainer for a long time without seeing any results. After she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, she realised she had to take drastic action or deal with the consequences for the rest of her life.

READ MORE: Gabourey Sidibe wont accept praise for weight loss

According to Netcare hospital, lap band surgery or bariatric surgery is a serious medical procedure performed on obese patients or patients suffering from 2 or more weight-related illnesses.Bariatric surgery can help patients lose up to 70% of their excess body weight in 12-18 months.

Cardi B isnt the kind of celebrity to keep secrets from her fans. After her daughter was born, she not only shared that she had liposuction and breast augmentation but also how hard recovery was. She shared her journey and the struggles that came with it and vowed never to go under the knife again.*Video contains foul language*

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From lipo to lap band surgery: Celebs who went under the knife to shed the kilos - All4Women

Bariatric surgery, a significantly underutilized treatment for weight management, is beginning to see an uptick in usea trend spurred by a somewhat unlikely cause: the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The 3 most important considerations for patients deciding on bariatric surgery

According to the New York Times' "Well," bariatric surgery is an increasingly safe, effective, and simple procedure available to patients with a BMI of at least 40 who cannot lose weight via diet and exercise alone, as well as patients with BMIs between 30 to 35 who have obesity-related health issues.

Bariatric surgeriesincluding gastric bypasses, laparoscopic bands, and gastric sleeveswork by reducing the physical size of the stomach and curbing appetite by altering the hormonal signals between a patient's stomach and brain. Bariatric surgery, according to "Well," has become increasingly safe over the years, with the rates of complications and deaths related to such procedures plunging from a peak of 11.7% and 1%, respectively, in 1998 to 1.4% and 0.04% in 2016.

However, despite the safety and efficacy of the procedure, experts say it's significantly underutilized. "Only one-half of 1 percent of people eligible for bariatric surgery currently undergo it," Anne Ehlers, a bariatric surgeon at the University of Michigan, said.

According to a JAMA article, this under-use of bariatric surgery likely stems both from "the reluctance of the medical community and patients to accept surgery as a safe, effective, and durable treatment of obesity," and because patients worry that they "may be judged by others for taking the easy way out and not having the willpower to diet and exercise."

According to the Wall Street Journal, several studies have found a link between obesity and its related health issuessuch as diabetes and hypertensionand increased rates of serious Covid-19 infection. In fact, CDC this month confirmed that new research demonstrates that Covid-19 patients who are obese have a greater risk of severe outcomes.

Researchers think this increased risk for obese patients may stem in part because of how the coronavirus enters the body via an enzyme called the ACE2 receptor. This enzyme is located in cells that line the lungs and fat tissue, which means that patients with excess weight may be more likely to experience a high viral load. In addition, obesity is linked to hyperinflammation and shortness of breath, two conditions that make it more difficult for someone to combat viral infection.

As John Morton, head of the bariatric practice at Yale Medical Center, said, "The virus frankly has an easier job" replicating itself among patients who are obese, because "[i]t has more targets."

But ongoing research indicates that losing weightand losing weight via bariatric surgery in particularmay help lower this risk, the Journal reports. According to a clinical study from the Cleveland Clinic that's currently under peer review, patients with obesity who've had bariatric surgery were 25% less likely to require hospitalization after contracting Covid-19 when compared with obese patients who have not had the surgery. In addition, among those patients in the study who were hospitalized, none of those who've had bariatric surgery were admitted to the ICU or died from the pathogencompared with 13% and 2.5%, respectively, of hospitalized patients who have not had the surgery.

In light of this increased risk, some patients who are struggling with their weight are undergoing bariatric surgery as a proactive measure against severe infectiona trend that seems to have made bariatric surgery more popular than ever, the Journal reports.

In fact, while most scheduled procedures are now experiencing a rebound after several months' pause amid the epidemic, bariatric surgery is not only rebounding more quickly than other services, but it's surpassing even its 2019 levels. Specifically, according to research from health care data company Perception Health, claims for bariatric surgery fell to nearly zero in April, but then rebounded by June to a higher level than that same month in 2019.

Separately, Optum, which owns medical facilities and surgical centers across the country, reported a 26% annual increase in patients joining bariatric-surgery programs this summer. (The Daily Briefing is published by Advisory Board, a division of Optum.) Similarly, Cigna said that while prior authorizations for bariatric surgeries declined 38.8% annually between March and May of this year, they increased 9.3% annually in June, July, and August.

The leaders of various surgical practices at major hospitals have reported similar anecdotal evidence, according to the Journal. For instance, Morton said that after Yale reopened its five hospitals for scheduled surgeries in June, bariatric surgery volume increased 20% when compared to 2019 levelsand inquiries about the procedure are also on the rise. "The only two surgeries that have been Covid-proof have been cancer and bariatric," he said.

Similarly, Ali Aminian, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, said intake for severely obese patients seeking bariatric surgery increased 40% annually over the summer. "We've had patients who wanted to come and take care of their obesity, to be healthier, and when we ask them, why did you come now? It's because they've heard this message that it's a risk factor for Covid infection," Aminian said.

And speaking as a bariatric surgery patient, Eliza Henderson said the coronavirus spurred her to "take the plunge" and schedule herself for the procedure later this month. "I don't want my being obese to stack the odds against me with something like coronavirus," Henderson explained. "More than anything, I want to have a better chance to survive" (Whelan, Wall Street Journal, 9/28; Brody, "Well," New York Times, 9/28).

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Bariatric surgery is booming, as obese patients worry about their Covid-19 risks - The Daily Briefing

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Polycystic Ovary Disease (PCOD) are hormone disorders which are very common among women belonging to the reproductive age bracket. Irregular periods, weight gain and hair loss are some of the common symptoms that one experiences during PCOS and PCOD. In the past decade, the number of women suffering from these conditions has increased drastically. But the lack of awareness has created a lot of misconception related to these health conditions. We spoke to Dr Akhila Joshi, who is a medical expert in the field and tried to bust some common myths related to PCOD and PCOS.

Myth 1: Irregular periods means PCOD or PCOS

Myth 3: People suffering from PCOS are always on birth control pills. This is another common misconception people have about PCOS. As per Dr Akhila, medications can only reduce the symptoms, not the problem. Birth control pills are not a permanent solution for PCOD and PCOS. Instead, she stressed the importance of finding the root cause of the diseases to finally get rid of it once and for all.

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5 most common myths related to PCOS and PCOD - Times of India

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Its well known that carrying extra fat around your waist can be harmful to your health, bringing greater risk of developing illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But arecent studyfound that, regardless of weight, people who carry more fat around their abdomen had a higher risk of dying sooner in fact, there was an 11% increase in death during follow up with every extra 10cm of waist circumference.

The researchers included 72 studies in their review, which contained data on 2.5 million people. They then analysed the combined data on body shape measures, looking at waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-thigh ratio, and waist and thigh circumference in other words, all the areas where a person naturally stores fat.

Beside the finding on belly fat, the researchers also found that people who tend to store more fat on the hips and thighs instead of their abdomen had a lower risk of dying sooner, with each extra 5cm thigh circumference associated with an 18% reduced risk of death during the follow-up period (between 3-24 years, depending on the study). But why might this be the case? The answer has to do with the type of fat tissue we tend to store in certain areas of our body.

Body fat (known as adipose tissue) plays an important role in our physiology. Its main purpose is to take glucose from the blood and safelystore this energy as lipidinside our fat cells, which our body uses later for fuel. Our fat cells also producehormone signalsthat influence many body processes, including appetite. Adipose tissue is therefore important for good metabolic health.

But having too little adipose tissue can affect how well blood sugar levels are regulated in the body. Insulin regulates healthy blood sugar levels, telling fat cells to take up glucose from the blood and store it for later. Without enough adipose tissue (a condition known aslipodystrophy), this process cant work properly resulting ininsulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.

Although fat is important for good metabolic health, where we store it (and the kind of fat tissue it is) can have different health consequences. Research shows that people with the same height and weight, but who store their fat in different places havedifferent risksof developing certainmetabolic diseases, such astype 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Also read:Chillies could be the next big trend in weight loss regimen

Body shape is influenced by where fat is stored in our body. For example, apple shaped people store more fat around their waist and are likely tostore more fat deeperin the body surrounding their organs asvisceral fat. Pear shaped people have larger thighs, and store more fat more evenly around their body just under the skin assubcutaneous fat.

Thesedifferent fat depotshavedifferent physiological propertiesandexpress different genes. Its thought that different visceral and subcutaneous fat depots develop fromdifferent precursor cells cells that can become fat cells.

Visceral fat is considered moreinsulin resistant, and so carries a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Body fat stored around the waist also releases more blood triglycerides in response tostress hormone signalscompared to hip and thigh fat. High blood trigylceride levels are associated with greater risk ofheart disease. This is partly why visceral fat is seen as as more harmful than subcutaneous fat.

On the other hand, hip and thigh subcutaneous fat can bettertake up these triglyceridesfrom the blood and store them safely, preventing the body from incorrectly storing them in the muscles or liver, which can causeliver disease. Subcutaneous fat tissue can even develop specialisedbeige fat cellsthat are able to burn fat. For these reasons, subcutaneous fat is thought of as safer even protective against metabolic disease.

Its thought that in some people subcutaneous fat stores run out of storage space (or the ability to make new fat cells) sooner than in others. This means more fat will be stored in the less safe visceral depots. Visceral fat can causeinflammation, eventually leading to metabolic and cardiovascular disease. And if fat can no longer be stored in adipose tissue, eventually lipid can accumulate elsewhere including the heart, muscles, and liver which again canlead to disease.

As with height, your genes play a large part in weight and body shape.Large genetic studieshave identified over 400 of the tiniestgenome differencesthat might contribute to body-fat distribution. For example, people who have a mutation in the LRP5 gene carrymore fat in their abdomenand less in their lower body. However, these tiny genetic differences are common in the population, affecting most of us in one way or another and may explain why humans have such a range of different body shapes.

Unfortunately, this means that it might be more difficult for a person who naturally stores fat around their waist to maintain good health. But research also shows that weight loss can reduce visceral fat and improvemetabolic health. So what is important to remember is that body shape is only a risk factor, and even with these differences you can still lower your risk of chronic disease if you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

This article was republished from the World Economic Forum.

Also read:Why some humans are born to have a beer belly

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Belly fat causes premature death, regardless of your weight - ThePrint

Its well known that carrying extra fat around your waist can be harmful to your health, bringing greater risk of developing illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But a recent study found that, regardless of weight, people who carry more fat around their abdomen had a higher risk of dying sooner in fact, there was an 11% increase in death during follow up with every extra 10cm of waist circumference.

The researchers included 72 studies in their review, which contained data on 2.5 million people. They then analysed the combined data on body shape measures, looking at waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-thigh ratio, and waist and thigh circumference in other words, all the areas where a person naturally stores fat.

Beside the finding on belly fat, the researchers also found that people who tend to store more fat on the hips and thighs instead of their abdomen had a lower risk of dying sooner, with each extra 5cm thigh circumference associated with an 18% reduced risk of death during the follow-up period (between 3-24 years, depending on the study). But why might this be the case? The answer has to do with the type of fat tissue we tend to store in certain areas of our body.

Body fat (known as adipose tissue) plays an important role in our physiology. Its main purpose is to take glucose from the blood and safely store this energy as lipid inside our fat cells, which our body uses later for fuel. Our fat cells also produce hormone signals that influence many body processes, including appetite. Adipose tissue is therefore important for good metabolic health.

But having too little adipose tissue can affect how well blood sugar levels are regulated in the body. Insulin regulates healthy blood sugar levels, telling fat cells to take up glucose from the blood and store it for later. Without enough adipose tissue (a condition known as lipodystrophy), this process cant work properly resulting in insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes.

Although fat is important for good metabolic health, where we store it (and the kind of fat tissue it is) can have different health consequences. Research shows that people with the same height and weight, but who store their fat in different places have different risks of developing certain metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Body shape is influenced by where fat is stored in our body. For example, apple shaped people store more fat around their waist and are likely to store more fat deeper in the body surrounding their organs as visceral fat. Pear shaped people have larger thighs, and store more fat more evenly around their body just under the skin as subcutaneous fat.

These different fat depots have different physiological properties and express different genes. Its thought that different visceral and subcutaneous fat depots develop from different precursor cells cells that can become fat cells.

Visceral fat is considered more insulin resistant, and so carries a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Body fat stored around the waist also releases more blood triglycerides in response to stress hormone signals compared to hip and thigh fat. High blood trigylceride levels are associated with greater risk of heart disease. This is partly why visceral fat is seen as as more harmful than subcutaneous fat.

On the other hand, hip and thigh subcutaneous fat can better take up these triglycerides from the blood and store them safely, preventing the body from incorrectly storing them in the muscles or liver, which can cause liver disease. Subcutaneous fat tissue can even develop specialised beige fat cells that are able to burn fat. For these reasons, subcutaneous fat is thought of as safer even protective against metabolic disease.

Its thought that in some people subcutaneous fat stores run out of storage space (or the ability to make new fat cells) sooner than in others. This means more fat will be stored in the less safe visceral depots. Visceral fat can cause inflammation, eventually leading to metabolic and cardiovascular disease. And if fat can no longer be stored in adipose tissue, eventually lipid can accumulate elsewhere including the heart, muscles, and liver which again can lead to disease.

As with height, your genes play a large part in weight and body shape. Large genetic studies have identified over 400 of the tiniest genome differences that might contribute to body-fat distribution. For example, people who have a mutation in the LRP5 gene carry more fat in their abdomen and less in their lower body. However, these tiny genetic differences are common in the population, affecting most of us in one way or another and may explain why humans have such a range of different body shapes.

Unfortunately, this means that it might be more difficult for a person who naturally stores fat around their waist to maintain good health. But research also shows that weight loss can reduce visceral fat and improve metabolic health. So what is important to remember is that body shape is only a risk factor, and even with these differences you can still lower your risk of chronic disease if you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Belly fat linked to higher risk of premature death, regardless of your weight - The Conversation UK