how controllable is waist hip ratio?

[windlewin]

There seems to be a lot of internet "science articles" that waist hip ratio is strongly influenced by some environmental factors. The two main recommendations for lowering whr are to eat less carbs (they say that sugar raises insulin and insulin causes belly fat distribution pattern) and also to lower stress (cortisol also causes belly fat distribution pattern so that fat can be readily available to vital organs). This seems contradictory because don't low carb diets increase stress? I believe one of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome or diabetes is to tend to have increased waist circumference (relative to body size). So in some ways these claims make sense yet they are also contradictory. It's very confusing! :? Do you think that controllable hormones and environmental factors can improve the waist hip ratio in an already lean woman (shifting fat rather than just losing more fat)? Body composition is clearly heavily influenced by genetics but do you think it's possible that the ability to process sugar , progesterone to estrogen ratio or maybe the body's response to cortisol, is really the genetic component and that the fat is stored in certain areas because of these factors? That would mean that whr is somewhat controllable in an already lean woman.
thankyou for reading and have a wonderful day ! :)

 

[Ben]

Estrogen tends to store fat in the hips, while cortisol tends to store fat in the waist. So theoretically, if you increased testosterone production or supplemented testosterone, which would reduce cortisol but increase estrogen due to aromatization, you would reduce fat storage in the waist, and increase fat storage in the hips.

Eating a higher proportion of fats and carbohydrates to protein than you currently are would have a similar effect of increasing estrogen-cortisol ratio. Simply boost your consumption of quality ice cream, sweeten fruit juice, drink whole milk instead of 2% milk, etc. Do not fall under the spell of focusing on just PUFA instead of sat fat-PUFA ratio. I think even RP made this mistake. Dietary fat is anti-lipolytic (like aspirin and niacinamide, gasp!), when you have less than needed, the stress hormone growth hormone increases. Also keep in mind that carbs and fat reduce requirement for dietary protein but still follow appetite and eat sufficient protein, especially in the morning and during the day.

I believe that this kind of diet minimizes cortisol more than it minimizes estrogen, yet I believe it is better in general.

 

[tara]

I think there are quite a few people who have lost fat by restricting carb or calorie intake, but then eventually found the stress effects to cause too many problems. When they increase carbs again, they seem to sometimes gain more fat round the midrift than they lost in the first place. My current guess is that this is a result of low carb (or calories) and stress causing adaptive changes in metabolism, including the way it uses fat and sugar, not of carbs being the main problem.

Not from Peat, but Gwyneth at youreatopia observes that during recovery from anorexia etc, when people start to eat enough again, they usually progress through predictable phases, beginning with bloat, followed by gaining fat round the vital organs, and eventually, if they continue to eat enough, some of the abdominal fat redistributes to the rest of the body, and for some people the amount or proportion of fat eventually decreases again (but no guarantees). (There are other aspects to recovery - this is just about the fat.) This may not apply to you - I don't know your history - it's just part of what I've read concerning fat distribution.

I think this may suggest that for people who are recovering from chronic under-eating, some influence may be possible, but not instantly, and perhaps not as much as desired, given that we can't change the past. Also, that the way forward involves not trying to force immediate changes in fat distribution, but to provide enough fuel and other nutrients, and then get out of the way and let the body sort itself out.

 

[oxidation_is_normal]

Great question. There are likely some neotenic issues (that is timing of various events, such as various hormone levels during development). For example, we know that having soy breast milk can give single-digit girls large breasts. I've not seen studies on this, but from my own observations, very few of these developmentally challenged girls have good hip to waist ratios. We're literally talking about the grown of bones here - so looking at hormones and nutrients that affect that may be helpful.

 

[oxidation_is_normal]

P.S. I doubt there is anything a girl can do after her teenage years to improve the actual ratio (besides showing it off by being lean).

Another thing you could do to increase the perception of your actual ratio is to do squats. Having lean thighs and a large gluteus maximus will increase your apparent ratio.

 

[mujuro]

I know we're not fans of fasting here but in the days before discovering Peat, fasted LISS cardio + ADF + resistance training absolutely destroyed my visceral fat and shrunk my waist like nothing else I've ever done (bodybuilding background). It worked, but I kept at it for far longer than was necessary and stressed my body into a low-carb sickness.

However, all that aside, anyone looking to accomplish a smaller waist should start with stomach vacuums. The visual difference once you strengthen the transverse abdominis is remarkable. Vince Gironda taught Arnold & co. to do several sets of stomach vacuums twice daily.