Bring more fat on legs compared with the stomach secures postmenopausal females from heart illness, a research study says.Women of a healthy weight with the highest threat of stroke or heart illness had the most tummy fat and the least hip and thigh fat, the European Heart Journal research found.The researchers said “apple-shaped” ladies must attempt to lose stomach fat and become more “pear-shaped”. What did the scientists do?The research followed 2,600 women who were a healthy weight – with a body mass index (BMI) of between 18 and 25 – over 18 years.They were all taking part in a major United States study, the Womens Health Initiative, which started in the mid-1990s, and had routine scans to examine fat, muscle and bone density.The study discovered “apple-shaped” ladies, with more fat around the stomach, had a more than threefold increased cardiovascular illness threat compared with those who were “pear-shaped”, with fat around the hips and thighs.Isnt it known that being apple-shaped is bad?Scientists currently understand that the kind of fat stored around abdominal organs, called visceral fat, increases the danger of metabolic problems like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Heart and circulatory illness are responsible for one in four deaths in the UK.The reason leg fat may be protective is not well understood, but it is not causing problems elsewhere in the body.Unfortunately, an unhealthy lifestyle in middle age can increase abdominal fat.But Prof Qibin Qi, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who carried out this research study, stated previous research study has focused on those who were overweight or overweight. This message is extremely crucial: even for ladies with healthy body weight, apple shape or pear shape still matters,” he said.Prof Qi states it is all about trying to reduce stomach fat, so the ratio of stubborn belly to leg fat is better.He included: “It is unknown whether there may be some specific diet or workout which can assist move fat.