Where excess body fat is distributed on your body plays a role in your risk for disease. Weight gain around your waist (specifically in your abdominal area) is more of a health risk than weight gained on your hips and thighs. Unlike fat around the thighs, which is more common in women and is more likely to serve as an energy reservoir, abdominal fat deposits fatty acids directly into the bloodstream for immediate short-term energy, increasing triglyceride and, eventually, cholesterol levels. Therefore, excess abdominal fat is associated with an increase in blood cholesterol and insulin resistance, which may result in diabetes. An "apple shaped" figure may also raise your risks for other life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke.
Human Anatomy
The human anatomy is comprised of multiple systems at work in the body, all of which are in relationship with one another. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition and exercise helps to ensure your body systems work well together.
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Society of Interventional Radiology answeredA fistula is an communication that connects internal structures with the body’s surface. This can be surgically created but usually it is an abnormal formation that requires treatment. -
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answeredApples have a tendency to put on belly fat, may have round faces, have humps on their upper backs, and may have thin legs. Traditional methods of weight loss like cutting calories and aggressive exercise routines do not work for this body type, according to nutrition specialist Dr. Jeffrey Morrison.
Why? A low-calorie diet and too much exercise translate as starvation and stress to this body type, which can increase the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. Increased amounts of cortisol can slow metabolism and is known to contribute to belly fat and an increased waist size. Cortisol also floods the body with sugar. When your body does not use it for energy, it gets stored as fat. Belly fat is especially dangerous because it surrounds so many of your vital organs.
Apples may also suffer a lot of inflammation or pain, particularly in the joints, back, or neck. They are also at greater risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and breast cancer. -
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RealAge answeredMucous membranes are moist tissues that contain mucous glands. These membranes line and protect many body parts including the nose, eyelids, mouth, lungs, vagina, urinary tract and digestive tract. The mucous glands within the membranes release a thick fluid called mucus, which helps to keep the membranes moist. The mucus also helps trap bacteria and other disease-causing pathogens and prevent them from infecting the body. -
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Sigma Nursing answeredThe mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: One layer immediately surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide easily against adjacent structures.
The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women.
This answer is based on source information from the National Cancer Institute. -
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See All 2 AnswersBasal body temperature is the body's lowest temperature measured at absolute rest. This is often used as a natural way to assess fertility, since a woman's basal body temperature is likely to be slightly higher during ovulation. -
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When we sweat, true cooling comes from the evaporation of that sweat. Humidity impairs the body’s ability to evaporate sweat. Thus, humidity reduces the body’s ability to give off heat and cool itself.
(This answer provided for NATA by the Marist College Athletic Training Education Program.) -
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Geralyn Coopersmith , Fitness, answeredSee All 3 AnswersThe way you store fat determines whether you have an apple or pear shaped body. In this video, exercise physiologist and fitness trainer Geralyn Coopersmith explains why body shape matters.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answeredPears are plagued by what many of you may know as “junk in the trunk.” Pears carry most of their weight on their lower hips, thighs, and butt, and perhaps most frustrating of all, a stubborn pooch of tummy fat. While it may take longer to accumulate this kind of fat, it’s also much harder to get rid of. Why? This kind of fat is influenced by estrogen, according to nutrition specialist Dr. Jeffrey Morrison. And estrogen makes fat. When a woman gets pregnant, estrogen spikes (which is why many women keep the weight on long after the baby is born). When a woman has a heavy period, estrogen spikes -- making more fat. The good news is that this kind of fat is not as dangerous as belly fat, but it may be more unsightly, as it can become that cheesy, cellulite-type fat that is every woman’s nightmare. And while an apple cannot become a pear, with excessive weight gain, a pear may wind up transforming into an apple.
Pears are at a higher risk for osteoporosis. During menopause, pears make much weaker estrogen, which is not strong enough to keep calcium in the bones. Other health issues for this type are cellulite, varicose veins, and joint problems. -
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See All 2 AnswersThe word humor actually comes from two words, the Latin word umor and the in medieval word humor, meaning fluid. Both words were medical terms referring temperament or disposition. The theory was that there were four body fluids referred to as humors and these humors were associated with mood: black bile, meaning melancholy; phlegm, meaning apathy; yellow bile, referring to anger; and blood, which was confidence. It was believed that variations in temperaments or illness resulted when the humors were mixed in different quantities. The combination of these body humors resulted in a person being either in good humor or in bad humor.