Apple shaped men-pear shaped women

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 228, 26 January 1988, Page 13

Apple shaped men-pear shaped women

New Zealand a n d Australian men are too fat, say medical and nutrition experts. Nearly half the adult males in New Zealand, and just over half of adult males in Australia, are overweight, according to statistics released recently by the Auckland Medical School and the Commonwealth Health Departmbnt in Australia. And men are more at risk than women in the chubby stakes, says diet expert, Rosemary Stanton. She warns: "There is a lot of evidence to show that it is not weight as much as waist to hip ratio which is relevant to the development of health problems associated with excess weight." She says men become top heavy when their waist to hip ratio increases unfavourably. Stanton, who is nutrition consultant to Weight Watchers, describes people as apples or pears. The apples carry excess weight about the waist, while the pears have bulkier hips and thighs. Broadly speaking, the apples are men and the pears are women. However, being a pear is reasonably hcalthy, but to be an apple is a risky business. Says Stanton: "It is Ihe 'apples' who have higher risks from conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, diabetes and certain types of cancer." Sadly, there is a major problem convincing men that they are too heavy for the sake of their health. Says Stanton: "Many men who are quite definitely overweight by even the most generous of health standards often refuse to believe that their excess flesh is anything other than a much loved beer gut." Neil Anderson, of Wellington, is a former 'apple' who once weighed a hefty 125.5kg. Since he reached his goal weight of 76.6kg through a Weight Watchers programme, Anderson says he has felt like a new man and he is determined to convert more men to the joys of being slim. Overweight all his life, he says it is a myth that fat people are jolly. He says, "It's not fun to be fat. I acted jolly to cover up the fat person inside me." As an 'apple' Anderson says he stayed in the background at social occasions, ate anything and everything in sight, and chose .clothes in which he could hide.

While the physical changes are obvious in his before and after pictures, he says the emotional and psychological changes were equally dramatic. Says Anderson: "My ego is 1000 times higher. Look at me! I'm a good looking 'normal' guy. I've got a new hairstyle, new glasses, new clothes and new image. It's great." Rosemary Stanton advises men and women who want to lose weight and keep it off to seek the help of specialists in diet management, such as Weight Watchers. Attitudes also must

change. As a nutritionist with more than 20 years experience she says a diet is "not constant deprivation of food, but a healthy rcgiment of food and drink." "There is," she says, "no doubt that the best way to stay slim is not to get fat in the first place! "But," says Stanton, "If it is too late for that, you nced not despair. "A sensible diet and exercise programme can remove some of the body fat." However, to lose body fat Stanton says, some facts must be faced.

*First, "Fat can only be lost slowly. Weight lost quickly is mainly water, not fat. *Second, a new eating and exercise plan must be a lifelong commitment. "You cannot go ... back to old eating habits without also going back to your previous weight." "A sensible eating and exercise pattern must fit into your lifestyle - you need to enjoy it." And, she says, "You must give up hoping for a miracle and must accept that not everyone can achieve a very thin body." On food, Rosemary Stanton says - "Everything in the human body is ultimately made from the food we eat ... we have so many wonderful healthy foods available to us and we should make the most of them. Eating should be an enjoyable experience, not one riddled with self-abuse and guilt."