Are you apple or pear-shaped? It could determine your heart disease risk

You may have heard of the different body shapes, and it turns out they aren’t just good for determining what clothes to wear: they could hold the key to knowing your future heart disease risk.

It turns out a pear-shaped body, i.e. a body with more weight on the lower half, has a lowered risk of a heart disease, whereas having an apple shape makes you more susceptible to one of the world’s biggest killers.

Apple-shaped bodies have also been linked with metabolic syndrome, which involves high blood pressure, high sugar levels, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease and heart failure, as there is more weight on the top half of the body.

According to new research from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the shape of your body plays a part in your risk factor.

Researchers examined data for 200 men and women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who did not have symptoms of coronary disease.

The participants underwent computed tomography (CT) screenings and echocardiography to assess the function of their left ventricle, the chamber of the heart responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood to the brain and the body.

Interestingly, regardless of total body weight and body mass index (BMI), abdominal obesity appears to be a strong predictor of regional left ventricular dysfunction, a common cause of heart disease.

Brent Muhlestein, co-director of research at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, said, “This study confirms that having an apple-shaped body, or a high waist circumference, can lead to heart disease, and that reducing your waist size can reduce your risks”.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in Australia… it kills one Australian every 12 minutes. One in six Australians will be affected by heart disease, and deaths from the disease are largely preventable.

The first way to start losing weight and maintaining great health is to see your doctor and work out a healthy eating plan and exercise regime.

Tell us, what shape is your body? What do you do to prevent heart disease?