Fat on hips is good, fat on belly is bad

Although gaining weight and forming fat has always been seen as a negative thing, the severity of health issues involved with obesity and excess weight depends on where the fat forms on your body.

In some instances, fat in certain areas actually reduces your risk in respect of various health issues.

Whilst this article isn’t about promoting obesity, or reassuring people that it’s ok not to live a healthy lifestyle, it is drawing attention to the fact that you dont have to be skinny to be fit and healthy.

That being said, the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is to get a good, balanced diet and keep as active as possible, with some experts saying that as an absolute minimum you should be doing at least 20 minute exercise stints at least 5 times a week.

Specifically in this article we are going to look at how having a few extra inches on the hips can actually benefit your health, reducing your risk of heart disease.

If the extra weight is located around your waist however, this could have an adverse effect, rather than a positive one.

Extra fat on the bum, hips and thighs has been given the name of having a ‘pear-shaped’ body. Oxford scientists have looked at the evidence and come to the conclusion that the extra weight on the hips helps protect against diabetes and heart disease.

Extra weight around the waist can lead to fatty acid floating around the body and be released into organs where it can cause damage. Extra thigh, hip weight is more about the long-term store of fat, and therefore does not cause the same problem.

Although this is encouraging to read, it still emphasizes the need to eat less and exercise more, so just because your fat isn’t placed in the ‘dangerous’ zone it doesn’t mean that you should continue to increase your levels of fat.

There have been various articles since this news has hit the headlines that somewhat blur the dangers that excess fat still pose to your body.

This information needs to be taken for with a pinch of salt, and whilst it’s a good thing to reassure yourself that that extra fat on your bum is actually a good thing, you still need to work towards improving your overall lifestyle.