Apple body shapes have higher risk of diabetes than pears
- Study of more than 430,000 people found ‘apples’ have higher diabetes risk
- Meanwhile, people with pear-shaped bodies tend to have lower blood pressure
- The finding could lead to new hip-waist-ratio screening to check for disease risk
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com
64
View
comments
Being ‘pear’ shaped like Kate Winslet and Mad Men star Christina Hendricks means you are less likely to develop heart disease or diabetes, according to new research.
But a study of more than 430,000 people found those who were ‘apples’ – rounder around the middle – had a much higher risk of suffering from high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
Apples were also more at risk of insulin intolerance, making it harder for their bodies to process sugar.
The findings, published in the journal JAMA, could prompt a new screening method for life-threatening illnesses: screening one’s waist-to-hip ratio to assess their risk.
A study of more than 430,000 people found ‘apples’ have higher diabetes risk than ‘pears’
Pears have well defined waists but generous hips and bottoms.
For years, that shape of figure has been associated with better health.
Now, for the first time, scientists have uncovered a causal relationship between ‘apple’-types and coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes, the form linked to obesity.
Unlike the fat that pads out pear-shapes, scientists say belly fat wraps around the body’s vital organs.
It produces hormones and other chemicals that tamper with blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels which are controlled by insulin.
As a result it raises the risk of a host of health problems including heart disease, diabetes and strokes.
Obesity, typically defined on the basis of body mass index (BMI), is a leading cause of type 2 diabetes and CHD.
-
Can you guess which household chore burns 300 calories?…
Think your gluten-free diet is healthy? You’re exposed to…
But, for any given BMI, body fat distribution can vary substantially. Some individuals store proportionally more fat around their visceral organs (apples)) than on their thighs and hips.
It has been associated with type 2 diabetes and CHD only in observational studies – until now.
The researchers found people who were genetically predisposed to be apple shaped were more at risk for type 2 diabetes and CHD.
Dr Sekar Kathiresan, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, said: ‘These results permit several conclusions.
‘First, these findings lend human genetic support to previous observations associating abdominal adiposity with cardiometabolic disease.
‘Second, these results suggest that body fat distribution, beyond simple measurement of BMI, could explain part of the variation in risk of type 2 diabetes and CHD noted across individuals and subpopulations.
‘Third, waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI might prove useful as a biomarker for the development of therapies to prevent type 2 diabetes and CHD.’
The finding was based on a combined data set of results from four studies between 2007 to 2015 that mapped the complete DNA of 434,140 participants, which included 111,986 Britons from the UK Biobank.
The researchers found genetic predisposition to higher waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI was associated with increased levels of bad cholesterol, insulin and glucose, along with higher blood pressure.
Share or comment on this article
-
e-mail
- Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 45, dies at her London…
- ‘She hit my mom and I need to whoop her right now:’…
- Barack Obam-AIR! New photos show former president…
- San Francisco transit janitor who makes more than $250K a…
- Woman accused of Photoshopping an engaged stranger’s face…
- ‘My intestines were out… and she was grabbing hold of…
- Snow could hit London TONIGHT and it’s set to be a white…
- Chilling moment four women are stranded on a rock in the…
- Tara’s devastating secret illness in her own words: How…
- Thinking of her breaststroke? Distracted cameraman…
- The astonishing moment a Zebra’s head is left poking out…
- Bridge of sighs: Disgusted mother, 19, spots a couple…
- Visiting daddy at work! Ivanka shares sweet snap of her…
- New male contraceptive jab that works for TWO YEARS:…
- Iraqi girl, 10, is ‘bitten to death’ with medieval…
- Manchester City star John Stones splashes out £3.4million…
- Mother is sentenced to 16 years in prison for incest,…
- 92% of left-wing activists live with their parents and…
Comments (64)
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now