Tag Archives: figure

Women witth fatter tums better able to deal with stress

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Salt Lake City: Women who have extra fat around their middle may enjoy significant health advantages over slimmer hourglass-shaped females, says a 37-nation study in the journal, Current Anthropology.

Elizabeth Cashdan, a Utah University anthropologist, says that being thinner could mean missing out on the hormones that make women physically stronger, more competitive and better able to deal with stress.

Her study shows that across the world, women’s average waist-to-hip ratio is higher than the magic number of 0.7, the upper threshold of a classic hourglass figure – and the shape that anthropologists believe indicate female fertility to the opposite sex.

It is thought that bigger women have more androgens, a class of hormones that includes testosterone.Androgens increase the waist-to-hip ratio in women by boosting levels of visceral fat, which is carried around the waist. Raised levels of androgens are linked to increased strength, stamina and competitiveness in women, says Cashdan.

Trading the benefits of a thin waist for better ability to be independently resourceful may prove a good deal in many societies, she adds – and this in turn may alter male preferences.

Thus, in Japan, Portugal and Greece, where women tend to be less economically independent, the men say they place a higher value on a thin waist than do men in Britain or Denmark, where there tends to be more sexual equality.

And in some non-Western societies where food is scarce and women bear most of the responsibility for finding it, men prefer larger waist-to-hip ratios.

“Whether men prefer a waist-to-hip ratio associated with lower or higher androgen levels should depend on the degree to which they want their mates to be strong, tough, economically successful and politically competitive,” says Cashdan .

Grandmother 51 with body of model

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London: Grandmother Donna McClure, pictured right, has a better figure than most women half her age. Her secret is a new exercise product from the US, the Nautilus Bowflex Homegym which the manufacturers claim is guaranteed to change your body in six weeks.

Donna is featured in the company’s promotional material after she wrote to them about how well the exercise regime worked for her. She now has her own web site www.fitgrandmother.com

Whether you want to lose weight, get in shape or just look better, the Bowflex home gym guarantees to change your body in just six weeks – or your money back.

Bowflex gets results because it not only provides an aerobic workout by circuit training, but also helps to build muscle. Regardless of age, muscle is important to everyone – especially people who want to lose weight – because body muscle helps to burn most of the calories we eat.

In a recent US studymen who exercised with the Bowflex home gym by following a ‘Fast Fat Loss’ programme lost an average of 28lbs of fat in just six weeks, while women lost almost 17lbs of fat in the same time-span.

Designed to provide a gym quality workout in the comfort of the home, Bowflex Sport offers over 60 different exercises – the equivalent of almost an entire range of gym equipment in a single, compact unit.

Bowflex’s unique Power RodÒ resistance provides you with a secret fitness weapon. This special Power Rod technology gives you resistance, or weight, that feels as good as, or better than free weights – but without the inertia, danger or joint pain usually associated with free weights.

And, because Power Rods are so strong, they can be flexed repeatedly without wearing out, and even come with a 30 year guarantee.

Two Bowflex home gym models are now available to UK consumers – the Bowflex SportÔ and the Bowflex XtremeÔ.

Both models come with a lat tower with angled lat bar to help build back and shoulder muscles quickly, a lower squat station for squats and to build glutes, hamstrings and quads, multiple cable positions to provide custom workouts. Both models also come with a complete step-by-step fitness guide, Dr Ellington Darden’s Fast Fat loss programme and a comprehensive owner’s manual.

And, for users who want the flexibility to move or store their home gym, the Bowflex Sport is fully portable, so it can be easily folded up and rolled out of the way.

Now the best-selling home gym in the US with over 1.5 million sales, Bowflex provides a better, quicker and more convenient workout system that’s ideal for anyone with a busy lifestyle and offers real results for real people. Instead of spending up to two hours driving to the gym, waiting for equipment, then exercising and driving home, Bowflex will always be available and ready for use – whatever the time of day or night.

Bowflex is also a great solution for anyone who is ‘turned off’ or intimidated by health and fitness clubs, as it offers a gym standard workout in the comfort of your home.

Alternatively, for real ‘fitness junkies’ the gym-quality workout and constant availability provides great results, and users can upgrade to 310lbs or 410lbs of Power Rod resistance as required.

Available immediately, the Bowflex Sport and Xtreme models retail at £799 and £999 respectively, or can be financed with affordable low monthly payments. The Bowflex home gym will be sold exclusively through television teleshopping via TV Warehouse, and can be ordered directly from its website, www.bowflex.co.uk”, or by calling Freephon from the UK: 0800 013 1606.