Sort of interesting article about the cardiovascular risks for women who
store weight in their legs and hips rather than in the abdomen. The
article is at:
<http://heart.healthcentersonline.com/newsstories/legfatdoesnotincr
easeheartdiseaserisk.cfm?nl=1>
if that link doesn't work for you, go to the healthcentersonline site and
search for leg fat.
As a woman who has a classic pear shape I was interested in this (although
of course that's pre-menopausal, in 10 years or so, all bets might be
off).
Two of the significant paragraphs were:
"If a woman is fortunate enough to store her fat primarily in the legs,
hips and thighs and can keep from gaining much fat in the abdominal
region, then her risk of cardiovascular disease will likely be low," study
author Dr. Rachael E. Van Pelt of the University of Colorado at Denver
told Reuters Health."
and
"The investigators found that excess leg fat alone, without abdominal fat,
appeared to have no unhealthy influence on any cardiovascular risk
factors. In fact, women who carried extra leg fat appeared to have lower
levels of triglycerides in their blood, suggesting that leg fat may even
protect women against cardiovascular disease."
But, it seems to me that they may be making assumptions as to what is the
cause and what is the effect. From the article, they seem to be assuming
that the leg fat *causes* the lower triglycerides, but it seems to me
equally possible that some genetic or environmental factor (diet or
exercise for example)may be the cause of both the tendency towards the
female pattern weight distribition and the lower triglycerides.
I especially wonder about this since I have had lipo to remove fat mostly
in the hips and thighs. Despite having about 15 lbs of fat removed from
this area, my tris are still extremely low (in the 40s - 50s range). As
I'm losing more fat from that area (my exercise program looks like it's
paying off), I'll keep an eye on my tris to see if they go up as my fat %
goes down. But I'll be surprised if they do.
Martha
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