Fat folk used to be able to obtain some comfort about the effect of their shape on their health risk. Being pear shape was thought to be less unhealthy than being apple shape.

A report funded by the British Heart Foundation and the UK Medical Research Council in this weeks Lancet  disputes this concept. Fat anywhere is a problem. The BBC covers the main points in the article.

DOUBTS EMERGE OVER HEART RISK TO “APPLE SHAPE” – BBC

COUNTRY : UK

“Doubts have been raised over the idea that being overweight and “apple shaped” increases heart attack risk.

A study in the Lancet found the risk of heart attack was not increased by fat being concentrated around the waist.

It contradicts previous work that found overweight people with “apple shaped” bodies were three times as likely to suffer heart attacks than those with more generally distributed fat.

But experts warned obesity was bad for the heart, no matter where the fat was.”

The BBC website links to the abstract of the original article in the Lancet. Thanks, BBC, hope you continue to do this linking because some readers may want to examine the article critically for themselves (although access to the full Lancet article requires a subscription).

LANCET ABSTRACT OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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© Srdjan Draskovic | Dreamstime.com