Here I go again, asking you to stand in front of the mirror for yet another self-scrutiny. Most women know at a glance whether their body type falls under the category of an apple or a pear if they are packing on a few pounds. But if it is not so obvious there are some simple measurements that you can take to determine which category you belong. Measure your waist at the level of your navel. If you want, do it three times and take the average. Then measure around your hips and record the average. Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. (I won’t tell if you need a calculator.) If your ratio is.8 or less, you are a pear. If it is greater than.8, you are an apple.

Why should you care what kind of fruit you are? It really isn’t an issue if your weight is normal. But if you are overweight, how you carry your weight can affect your health negatively. Lets take an apple for example. Extra weight on the top half of the body means that the vital organs are surrounded by and contain interstitial fat, much like the marbling of a piece of steak. This can affect the way the heart, lungs and liver function leading to high blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol which contribute to heart disease. Abdominal fat can also mess with your insulin levels which can put you at risk for diabetes. A pear stores fat primarily below the waist and it is a different type of fat. Does that mean that the only disadvantage the pear has is finding the perfect pair of jeans? Not really. Again too much fat eventually ends up on the upper body as well and will in time affect the vital organs the same way.

The bad news is that you are genetically predisposed to one type of fruit or another. But the good news is, with a healthy diet and exercise, neither type is destined to store excess fat. Assessing your predisposition to either the apple or pear can help steer you toward making better choices before putting your health at risk.