Do you have an apple, pear, banana or avocado body shape? These shapes can actually reveal a surprising amount of information when it comes to what areas of your health you need to look out for. Here is a quick overview of the body shapes. What shape (or fruit) are you?
Apple
If you are an apple you’ll find your weight is centred around your hips and abdomen while your bottom may be small and your legs and arms thin.
For men and women, an apple shape suggests lifestyle imbalances such as too much stress, the wrong foods and too little activity.
When apple body shapes gain weight it tends to go straight to the middle. Studies show that visceral fat accumulates much deeper in the torso and has been linked to a greater risk of colon and breast cancer, diabetes, gallbladder problems, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Once you gain fat in the abdomen, the hormone insulin may also have a much greater influence on your fat cells and blood sugar stability.
Pear body shape
If you are a pear body share your chest or breast circumferences are small to moderate and you have a well-defined waist. However, you hold your weight in your hips, bottom and thighs.
The additional weight carried in your bottom half may give you a higher tendency to develop blood circulation problems such as varicose veins. Women with a pear shape are likely to have high levels of oestrogen, which can increase the risk of oestrogen-dominant conditions such as breast cancer.
Pear body shapes may struggle more to lose weight as fat stored in the bottom, hips and thighs isn’t as readily mobilised for the body to burn. Therefore, pears may need to work harder to loose weight.
Banana
Banana body shapes are likely to have very slim waist and long legs. Their chest and waist circumferences are roughly the same width.
Banana shapes may be able to eat what they please without gaining weight. However, this does not necessarily mean it is because they are healthy. Banana shapes’ risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer are likely to be significantly lower, but to keep this advantage, healthy eating and an active lifestyle is essential. In addition, their naturally small frame and lower BMI means that, bananas may have a higher chance of developing osteoporosis.
Avocado Body Shape
If you have an avocado body shape your physique is somewhere between an apple and a pear shape.
It is believed that avocado body shapes are affected by an inefficient thyroid. This is the gland that affects metabolism and helps to explain why avocado body shapes may tend to gain weight easily all over but then find it very hard to lose. However, as weight gain is evenly distributed all over the body, avocado body shapes the problematic visceral fat that apple shapes suffer. Therefore, if you can sustain a healthy weight, your body shape will not elevate your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer or diabetes.
Avocado body shapes may find they have an easily triggered stress response and emotional states which may contribute to weight gain, interfere with sleep, lower mood or cause muscle tension in the body.
They may also have a lower level of general energy so it is vital that you motivate yourself to exercise and be active as this will also improve your lymphatic drainage and counter insufficiency in thyroid hormones.
