What Your Body Shape Means for Your Health

Although we all come in different sizes and every body is unique, extensive studies show that there are four basic body shapes that all women fell into.

What determines body shape? Based on these studies, the bone structure, age, and genetics of a person play a vital role. However, lifestyle factors that change your basic body shape can also make a huge impact to its dimensions.

The good news is, if you know how to identify your body shape, you’ll be able to work with it in order to improve your overall health.

Here’s what your body shape means for your health.

1. Apple

Those women that have an apple-shaped figure usually carry excess weight around their abdomens, resulting to a poorly-defined waistline. Likewise, weight gains go directly to the tummy area [most of the time] leading to a rounded profile.

What Does It Mean for Your Health?

Truth be told, apple-shaped women are more vulnerable to a wide range of health issues as compared to other body shapes. In fact, based on research, those who carry extra weight around mid-section are at a higher risk of heart problems, diabetes, depression, breast cancer, and even fertility issues.

How to Fix

It’s easy to improve your health and fitness through the help of diet and exercise. In order to reduce your waistline, try to allot 30 minutes of your time doing cardio style exercises everyday.

2. Rectangle

This is the body type where fat is distributed evenly that the measurements of the hips, chest, and waist are almost the same– this gives the body the “straight ruler” shape. Although their body seems straight, these women also suffer from weight problems– you can still be overweight with a ruler body. However, many slim women also fall in this category.

What Does It Mean for Your Health?

Ruler-shaped women usually have faster metabolism, which means it’s easy for them to lose weight through diet and exercise. However, the lack of appropriate exercise plan and diet could lead to a fat stomach that they’ll suffer similar healthy issues apple-shaped women face.

How to Fix

Fortunately, the primary concern for ruler-shaped women isn’t necessarily about weight gain or weight loss at all, because they tend to be pretty even. Though, this can also be the cause of frustration, especially for those who want a shapelier figure. For this, program resistance training can be utilised in order to sculpt the body the way you want it to be.

3. Pear

Based on studies, over 20% of women are pear-shaped, that it’s considered as the most common body shape. Women of this figure have larger hips than bust measurements. Wherein, the weight usually settles down at the lower part of the body, such as the hips, bums, and thighs.

What Does It Mean for Your Health?

Despite the fact that fat stored on the thighs and hips may be healthy as compared to fat stored on the abdomen, being overweight still results to a number of health issues no matter where it’s stored. Not just that, without careful management, pear-shaped women usually gain weight around the waistline and abdomen as well.

How to Fix

In order to maintain a healthy weight, women of this shape should focus on cardiovascular exercises targeting the lower body. This includes cycling, walking, and step aerobics. Resistance training of the upper body could also help in balancing the shape.

4. Hourglass

A lot of women dream of this body shape, but it’s also the least common. In fact, only 8% of women were lucky enough to achieve this very feminine physique. For hourglass-shaped ladies, the bust and hip measurements are of a similar size, wherein their waist measurement is narrower. Lucky for these women, the weight gain usually goes to the chest, hips, arms, and bum rather than the abdomen.

What Does It Mean for Your Health?

Hourglass-shaped women are very lucky because the weight distribution tends to be even– it doesn’t accumulate on just one body part. Also, based on research, women with an hourglass-shape usually exhibit higher rates of fertility.

Diet and Exercise Plan

To maintain their figure, women of this body shape should concentrate on full-body workouts, such as circuit training. They can also combine it with waist trainers & cardio to keep off the excess weight and tone up.

5. Inverted Triangle

The inverted triangle body shape is the most ideal athletic body type. The upper body is proportionally large. Women with this body type usually have broad shoulders, a wide back, slip hips and the lower half of the body tend to be flat. Their best asset is their beautiful legs.

What Does It Mean for Your Health?

Women with an inverted triangle body shape tend to gain weight in their upper belly.

Diet and Exercise Plan

Your exercise goal is to build up the lower body to even out your body shape. Cardio is also necessary. Since fat usually concentrates on the middle, it may take time to burn it out. Just be consistent and you will be able to achieve your goal.

These are just some of the most common body shapes of women. Which shape do you belong to?