We know what science proves: The apple body shape (bigger waist than hips) is deadlier than the pear shape (larger hips than waist). Now, the largest analysis of its kind has definitively proved that women who carry extra fat around their waists die earlier from cancer or heart disease—even if they maintain a normal weight, say researchers from Harvard and the National Institutes of Health.

Previous studies have shown that the tendency to deposit fat around the waist increases your risk for health problems. Now, data from more than 44,000 women in the Nurses’ Health study, which followed the health history of thousands of registered nurses in 11 states, shows that a bigger waistline increases your risk of death.

Here’s the rub: Women with waists of 35 inches or more are twice as likely to die of heart disease or cancer compared with women who have waists of 28 inches or smaller—regardless of their body mass index (BMI).

“Although maintaining a healthy weight should continue to be a corner stone in the prevention of chronic diseases and premature death, maintaining a healthy waist size should also be an important goal,” say the study’s authors.


During a daily 30-minute or longer walk, stop at least three times to incorporate this crunch move that tightens your obliques—the abdominal muscles running down the sides of your abdomen:

• Stand upright with feet shoulder width apart; elbows extended directly out from your body and hands resting on your shoulders.
• Raise your left knee until your thigh is at a 45-degree angle from your body, as if sitting in a chair.
• At the same time you raise your left knee, reach for it with your right elbow, squeezing your right oblique.
• Return to starting position and repeat with the right knee and left elbow; alternate legs and elbows until you have done this exercise 10 times on both sides.