THE WAIST: FINAL INSTALLMENT
To recap:
1. Our waist size is at least as important as how
much we weigh. So keep your measuring tape close.
2. Waist size is a big deal because a large waist
indicates the presence of unhealthy fat, called
visceral fat, which can wreak havoc on our health
and shorten life spans, for women and men both.
3. In women, Dr Oz "likes to see" a 32½" waist.
4. Waist size is equally important, I would
argue, because, when in desirable proportion to
hip size, it is a major-major factor in the
perception of a woman's attractiveness, as well as
of her age.
5. The ideal waist-hip ratio, according to a plethora
of studies, is 0.7. And this ideal 0.7 ratio holds
true for women from age 18 to age 85! Even
schoolchildren aged 10-11 in one study, when shown
female figures with varying waist-to-hip ratios,
showed a strong preference for a waist-to-hip
ratio of 0.7. In short, it is the distribution of
weight that determines attractiveness.
And finally: Do waists age?
After my look into waist issues, one nagging question remained: Are women doomed to widening waists as we age? For some reason, not even Dr. Oz broaches this topic. I suspect the dearth of information is because any scientific interest in older women's waists is next to none. Nada.
Persisting, though, I came across a few research bits which suggest the possibility of wiggle room around the biological tendency for us to lose the hour-glass. (Men's waists tend to thicken with age too, by the way.) So, personally, I plan to focus on the wiggle room rather than accept the foregone conclusion of thicker and wider.
Here are the bits
"As humans age, our waist-to-hip ratio gradually increases. This is one of the reasons that older women are generally found to be less attractive than younger women. It is a difficult to maintain the ideal female shape as you age, but as one of my Special Forces instructors once told me about commando training, 'If it was easy, everyone would do it.'"
"Where you tend to gain
fat depends on your genes, your hormones, your age, your birth weight (smaller
babies more readily add belly fat later in life), and whether you've had
children (women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat, the unhealthy fat, than women
who haven't).
"As young adults, women
on average have less visceral fat than men, but that changes with menopause. In
a four-year study at Louisiana State University tracking healthy middle-aged
women, every one of them put on some subcutaneous belly fat, but only those who
entered menopause added significant amounts of visceral fat. Lowered estrogen
levels (which increase the proportional influence of testosterone) contribute
to the shift toward a male pattern.
"You can't change your
birth weight or your genes, and you can't hold off menopause. (Studies are
mixed about whether hormone replacement therapy influences visceral fat gain.)
But there are several ways you can minimize the accumulation of visceral fat.
The good news is that because it's more readily metabolized into fatty acids,
it responds more efficiently to diet and exercise than fat on the hips and
thighs. Here are some approaches that may help:
Keep moving.
"Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you
don't lose weight, you lose visceral fat and gain muscle mass. In the Louisiana
study, the women going through menopause (those who gained visceral fat) also
became less physically active. Engage in at least 30
minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days, such as brisk walking or
bicycling at a casual pace. Also, Kahn suggests, create opportunities to add
motion to routine tasks. For example, park farther from your destination and
walk the rest of the way, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and stand
while you talk on the phone.
"Studies have shown
that you can help trim visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic
activity (such as brisk walking) and strength training (exercising with
weights). Spot exercises, such as sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles but
won't get at visceral fat. Exercise can also help
keep fat from coming back. In a study at the University of Alabama, Birmingham,
dieting women lost an average of 24 pounds and reduced both visceral and
subcutaneous fat, with or without aerobic or strength-training exercise. In the
following year, those who maintained their exercise programs — a modest 40
minutes twice a week — maintained their visceral fat loss, while those who
didn't exercise or abandoned their programs showed a 33% average increase in
visceral fat.
Eat right.
"Choose a balanced diet that helps you achieve and maintain a
healthy weight. Include plenty of calcium: according to another study from the
University of Alabama, Birmingham, the more calcium a woman consumes, the less
visceral fat she gains. Avoid products that seem to encourage belly fat
deposition, including trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils) and
fructose-sweetened foods and beverages.
Don't smoke.
"The more you smoke, the more likely you are to store fat in your
abdomen rather than on your hips and thighs.
Get your sleep.
"Too little is bad. A five-year study found that adults under age
40 who slept five hours or less a night accumulated significantly more visceral
fat. But too much isn't good, either — young adults who slept more than eight
hours also added visceral fat. (This relationship wasn't found in people over
age 40.)
Mind your mood.
"In the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, middle-aged
women who showed more hostility and had more depressive symptoms also had more
visceral fat — but not more subcutaneous fat. In other studies, higher levels
of the stress hormone cortisol were associated with a buildup of visceral fat
even in lean women.
Forget the quick fix.
"Liposuction for cosmetic fat removal doesn't reach inside the
abdominal wall."
We can keep visceral fat, the widening waist, at bay.
Dr.Oz suggestion:
Measure your waist once a month, not less, not more often.
That’s All, Folks,
The Professor
Oh, almost forgot. Final exam on October 28.
