About Your Muffin Top

In March 2011, the Oxford English Dictionary added the slang term “Muffin Top” to their online dictionary. A term that originated from Australia in 2003.

So what is a “Muffin Top”?

Imagine a well baked and well risen muffin with its top spilling over its case; apply the imagery to a person (normally female) wearing low rise or hipster jeans with the fat around the belly hanging out around the top of the jeans and you will very quickly get the picture.

Muffin tops can come in a variety of shape and sizes. Well, sizes mainly as the shape is just a roll of fat squeezed over from wearing too tight or too small jeans or trousers. If you have overly excessive belly fat (which is what it is), then the over hanging roll will be huge and (pardon the pun) unappetizing.

Abdominal or Belly Fat

Belly fat is when your waist size increases to an unhealthy measurement. For a woman that would be above 35″ or 89cm and for a man it will be 40″ or 102cm but the real measurement indicator of health and health risks will be the Waist to Hip Ratio measurement or WHR. This scientific method of measuring waist to hip ratio (WHR) is to take the waist circumference and divided it by the hip circumference.

• Where to measure on the waist : 1″ above your navel
• Where to measure on the hip : at the widest point standing with your legs together.

Example : waist measurement of 70cm and hip measurement of 100cm = 70/100 = 0.7

• Target measurement for women : 0.7
• Target measurement for men : 0.9

What are your measurements?

Measurement of health and attractiveness

Not only will a ratio of 0.7 for women and 0.9 for men mean better health and less risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, prostate and ovarian cancer (that extra roll of fat is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day according to a US study), but it is also an indicator of attractiveness.

What do Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and many Playboy models and beauty pageant contestants have in common? They all have a WHR of around 0.7 even though they all vary in height and weight.

Men are generally more likely to rate a woman’s attractiveness according to her WHR according to the evolutionary psychologist Dr. Devendra Singh. A healthy WHR ration is an indicator of health and fertility, and although it may vary from country to country, it lies within the range of 0.6 – 0.85.

What About BMI Measurements?

Body Mass Index or BMI is also important is measurement weigh to height ratio to determine whether you are obese or not. However, it only takes your weight as a guideline and does not take into account where the fat is on your body. A person could have a BMI measurement within the acceptable range, but have their WHR above what is acceptable, which means they still run the health risks involved in a too high WHR ratio.

This means that even with a normal BMI, a person with over the limit WHR will still need to find ways to reduce their waist size.

Which Fruit are You?

Being a pear shaped person, with more weight on the hips than the waist, is healthier than being an apple shaped person, where all the weight is centered around the waist and  stomach. Many women will find that when menopause sets in, their pear shape will slowly transform into an apple shape as fat deposit moves due to a decline in estrogen production, and fat is stored around the waist.

Health Problems Associated with the Muffin Top

A love of fast food, sedentary life styles and bad digestive systems all contribute to the expanding waist, and if nothing is done about it, you will be a sitting duck for all sorts of health problems.

Diabetes

If you have large adipose (ie: fat deposit) around your waist, it could make you insulin resistant. Adipose tissue is made up of 80% fat and far from just a lump of fat doing nothing, it has been discovered that adipose tissue is an endocrine organ and very active hormonally. These adipokines could impair glucose tolerance, a major cause of Diabetes type I and II and the more you have around your waist, the higher your risk of developing Diabetes.

Heart Disease

Excess fat around your waist goes hand in hand with being over weight. Coupled with a couch potato lifestyle and unhealthy eating, the arteries of your heart are going to get coated with fat or blocked with fatty deposits. This will lead to impaired heart function and possible heart attacks and strokes.

High Cholesterol

Cholesterol and heart disease are closely related and you will often find one where there is the other. Too much cholesterol will mean plaques will build inside your artery walls, leaving a deposit that over time, will block the blood flowing properly in your veins. Called arteriosclerosis, blood being prevented from reaching your brain can cause strokes, and blood being blocked from going to your chest can cause angina (chest pain).

With heart disease being the number one killer in the United States, and with more and more victims being women, it pays to keep your weight under control to avoid all these life threatening diseases.

What You Can Do Today to Start Reducing that Muffin Top

That muffin top is not going to go away overnight, you need to work at it to reduce that belly fat and that means time, patience and persistence.

1) Start moving around. Yes, the age old move around and burn calories is still the basis of successful weight loss. Start slow such as brisk walking for 20 minutes around the block every night or morning and build it up. If you set yourself a rigid military style regime, the chances of you following through is very low. So start small and build it up.

2) Eat healthily. Another age old piece of advise for weight loss – you need to control what goes into your body (and in this case, your muffin top) by eating the right things. Fresh fruit and vegetable, lean protein, grill and steaming food instead of frying, avoid those snacks and junk food that is the downfall of achieving your ideal body – eating muffins will only contribute to the muffin top so stop now!

3) Drink 2 liters of water a day. Often we will eat because we are thirsty so drink water when you are feeling a snack attack coming along, and stay hydrated the whole day. One good tip is to drink at least 500ml of water in one go first thing in the morning – it really helps to set a healthy tone for the day.

4) Regular bowel movements. Being constipated and not digesting your food properly will also contribute to your muffin top. So make sure you eat fresh foods that are high in fiber and are nutritious (such as organic products) to stop cravings and to help your elimination process.

This website is here to supply you with as much information as possible to help you on your way to becoming a WHR 0.7 woman or a WHR 0.9 man. I hope you will find it useful and I sincerely hope it will help you on your way to losing that muffin top and become a healthier you.

 

Related articles for About Your Muffin Top :

• Flabby midriff ‘raises health risk’ (mirror.co.uk)
• Belly Fat in Heart Patients Raises Death Risk (webmd.com)