The tourist season has begun in Amsterdam. The weather is a bit nicer (well, to Dutch standards) and tourists regularly arrive in town every friday to spend a weekend in the city. I can’t help but notice how people from the same country share similar looks, physical traits and body types.
I’m originally from France and I’ve been living in the Netherlands for some years now. When it comes to European tourists I often predict accurately the country the person comes from before she’s even said a word.
It’s interesting to see how body types and cultural differences make people look the way they look.
I don’t believe genetics play a huge part in our body’s shape (according to diet expert Tosca Reno, the equation is 10% genetics, 10% training, 80% nutrition). However, it is obvious that different people store fat in different ways. Even on a small continent such as Europe, there are many differences between northern and southern European women.
Of course I’m generalizing in my following descriptions, these are only subjective observations I’ve made.
Frequent body types of German / Dutch women
Android or Lymphatic shapes
Body types: Northern European women tend to be tall (Dutch women are the tallest in Europe) and muscular in shape. They have thick bones and muscles. When wearing skirts, few have lean “top model”-looking legs. At the gym, they have good muscular strength and coordination but low speed and poor flexibility.
Diet: They tend to have a protein-rich diet. Dutch love dairy. They drink milk and eat Dutch cheese every single day, and no one suffers from lactose intolerance. German eat less cheese but lot of pork (sausages, ham) almost on a daily basis.
Northern European women crave fatty foods or salty foods in addition to ‘classic’ female cravings (chocolate, sweets etc). Dutch, Belgian, German people all love potato fries.
Good habits: Dutch women cycle everyday to go to work. Cycling in the Netherlands is a common, daily method of transport. Lots of German cities are bicycle-friendly too.
Dutch en German people don’t eat much “white” refine carbs. The bigger part of their carbs intake comes from brown bread and complex carbs.
Frequent body types of Scandinavian women
Android or Thyroid shapes
Body types: They are the one looking the best at the gym. Women from Denmark, Norway and Sweden seem to basically have the same kind of body types than German/Dutch women. However, they seem to follow a healthier diet, known as the Nordic diet.
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Diet book “The nordic diet”
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Diet: Northern Europeans don’t follow the so-called healthy Mediterranean diet (fruit, vegetables, olive oil, nuts and cereals, low amounts of red meat and dairy products) because it’s not compatible with the ingredients produced in northern Europe.
The nordic diet is based on food that’s easily grown and produced in colder climates: fatty fish, cabbage, root vegetables and rye bread.
Frequent body types of Italian / French women
Gynaeoid or Tyroid shapes
Body types: Their bones are light and their muscles are small. Fat get stored mainly on the butt and thighs. Usually these women don’t get fat in the face, forearms and shins. Looking really overweight is rare for these populations, simply because a lot of them store fat only on their lower body. They won’t gain lot of muscle mass at the gym, even if they weight-train seriously.
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| An Italian tourist’s butt |
Bad habits: They eat white carbs (bread or pasta) every day and crave sugary foods (chocolate, pastry).
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| Book “French women don’t get fat” |
Good habits: The principles of Mireille Guiliano’s diet book “French women don’t get fat”: small portions of everything, savoring and enjoying the pleasures of food, rather than obsessing over it. But Mireille does forget to tell her American readers something very important: French women don’t get really fat, but many are skinny-fat: slim and fat at the same time. Despite appearing to be a healthy weight, they’ve got extra body fat and jiggle areas. After they passed 50 lots of them tend to have flat, sad butts.
Young Italian women look actually slimer than French women, but get bigger than French women after menopause. I guess after 50 the body becomes less forgiving with eating pasta on a regular basis.
I took all of the pictures from this test: www.liverdoctor.com/index.php?page=body-type
After taking the test, the result for my body type were: Gynaeoid: 56%Thyroid: 44%, which make sense considering my French genes. In which body types do you recognize yourself? (I couldn’t write a paragraph on British women because I’ve never been in the UK -such a shame I know!). If you’re American, do you believe the nationalities of your ancestors have an impact on your body type?
English
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
I came out as 51% Android, 28% Thyroid. I don’t know what happened to the other 21% of me! I think that’s fairly typical of British women though — we’re a bit of a mixed bag. Certainly I identify most with the tall Northern European body type, but there are plenty of women in the UK that are pear or apple shaped. It would be interesting to read up on how much genetics plays a role in this though, and how much is diet. I definitely think the fact that Northern Europeans tend to stay away from processed carbs is significant. Though I have had some amazing apple pie in Amsterdam, and Rumkugeln are also to be recommended if you’re ever in Germany.. ! Anyway, really interesting post, thanks.
Mine at least had the right proportions (think it was 68% Gynaeoid, 28% Thyroid)! But I’m half British and half Korean and I don’t know how western-biased that test is. My (English) mum is very much the classic Northern European tall and leggy athletic type. My dad is typically Korean! I’d expect genetics plays quite a big part in my case, in that I have a very typically Korean bodyshape; I will always have wee short legs and store most of my fat on my legs and hips, no matter how I eat or train. It’s hard to measure this, but I also think that training might have a more than 10% impact on how I look as well. If I hadn’t trained a specific way I would be very pear-shaped; as it is I have big shoulders so I’m basically X-shaped (much better as far as I’m concerned!). Interesting post, thanks for putting it up!
hmmmmm…. I came out Gynaeoid: 63% Lymphatic: 37% I think, to be honest, I could probably pick bits out of all of them to suit me! I am definitely pear shaped though, and wish I could be lean and willowy! ;) Very interesting, thankyou for posting. x
I’m 31%Gynaeoid and 63% Lymphatic. What sort of diet should i take to lose weight? any diet plans for this type of body?
If you are predominantly lymphatic, I’d say that a protein rich diet with low carbs is unfortunately the best way to go to lose weight for your bodytype. When it comes to training, don’t do steady cardio, elliptical machine, or classes like Zumba (unless you’re a beginner and need to build up your cardiovascular resistance first), it would just be a waste of time. Instead, try kickboxing classes or bootcamp classes.
How can you tell which body types you are?
By doing the test here: http://www.liverdoctor.com/index.php?page=body-type
I came out to 78% thyroid. This makes sense to me, as I am an American of Scandanavian and French descent. Very interesting blog – thank you.
Android: 51% Gynaeoid: 46% Which I think is odd since they are oppisites. What do you think?
Hi Nsorocka, it’s actually a good combination :) Big opposites are Thyroid and Lymphatic together, but the rest of the other body types are often found combined together. Android and Gynaeoid is a combination I see often in Dutch and German women: a nice athletic frame where the fat is stored mainly on the butt and hips.
i’m % android, any diet tips?
Avoid eating too many carbs when you’re not active and moderate dairy intake. Android is a great body type! If you tend to gain muscle and look muscular easily, you can try to lean out by doing cardio classes such as spinning or body attack (from LesMills).
Very interesting…I am American but of predominantly Norwegian and German descent. I came out 98% Android which fits.
I’m an American of mostly German descent (also a bit English), and I have the Lyphatic shape, as does my mother. Interesting.
I came out as 89% Gynaeoid, which I felt was high; I would have pegged myself at at least a quarter to a third Android as I have muscular thighs and upper arms through no effort on my part. I am American of mostly German and Scots-Irish descent, I am maybe an eighth French. My cravings are very in line with those described as Gynaeoid though, I have no trouble remaining on a vegetarian diet but I could not imagine giving up my sweets and red wine. I find I put on weight if I eat lots of cheese, ice cream and butter for a period, but my diet has been relatively high-carb my whole life and I easily maintain my weight (so far!) as long as I steer clear from too much dairy. My mother is the same way. She and I have very similar body types as well, at one point she was significantly overweight, wearing a US 16-18 on bottom, but did not appear to be as heavy as others the same height and weight as she does not put on weight in her face, arms or waist even after menopause.
I came out as 100% thyroid. This definitely fits my build to a T but I am entirely of Dutch origin. Interesting.
I’m from the netherlands and I came out as 88% thyroid.
I was 60% Gynaeoid and 40% Lymphatic. I’m mostly German but also Norwegian and a little bit of either Polish or Russian. I was always very skinny growing up but now I’m struggling with my weight (it’s mostly my teenage junk food cravings and my un-athleticness catching up with me). I’m not looking for any fad diets, but do you have any tips just on keeping a healthy diet and exercise routine for my body type and age?
Hi Anya, taking into account your test-results and the fact that you were skinny growing up, I’d say that developing your muscle mass would probably be one of the key to balance your physique. You probably aren’t a very muscular woman but developing a bit more muscular mass by doing some kind of weight training could help you increase your metabolism, balance hormones and fight the fat/water retention in your lower body. If you have a gym membership, following a group lesson such as body pump could be very beneficial. Regarding the diet: green leafy vegetables, onions, leeks, paired with lean protein (turkey, chicken breast, tuna) can help. Try to notice how your body reacts to certain foods (dairy, gluten, soy) and eliminate or reduce these foods if you feel they contribute to water-retention and bloating.
I am only half white, Belgian and Germanic roots–but this came out sooo wrong. I’m half Asian but I think much of my body shape is the German side…it told me that I am 91% Android which couldn’t be further from the truth…I noticed none of the shapes account for large BUST sizes, only bottom halves–and I definitely have a flat ass lol. My waist is very defined and my bust is very large, with almost exactly proportionate hips–but I am considered plus size with small hands, wrists, feet, ankles, and waist. All the women in my white family are similarly proportioned except with larger skeletons because they are full white. I think it’s interesting, but definitely not anywhere near enough body types listed. I also have an extreme amount of head on my hair (no balding) and good skin…lol. The other women in my family are the same! Hmmm. Interesting nonetheless…=)
I am a Gynaeoid shape – do you have any healthy eating/diet plan tips for me. I am an OK weight at the moment – but looking at my Mum – I feel I might put a lot of weight on my lower half as I get older…Thanks!
Hi Lee, a few tips for your shape: go easy on the salt & drink a lot of water to avoid making water retention in your lower half, limit your sugar intake to keep cellulite under control, include a protein source in every meal.
Thanks Elise. Very helpful. Great blog!
I am American with Norwegian, Scottish, Irish and Dutch ancestors. I am 55% Android and 45% Lymphatic. The only difference is that I am a little curvier than those types. My hips and waist are not significantly different, but I have always had large breasts and shapely legs. I do have polycystic ovaries and must take on plenty of protein and limit refined carbs.
I’m an American with Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Polish, and German ancestry. A big part of it is German. I got 79% andriod. I do think that body shape isn’t all genetics, I’ve recently been researching this because once my mom (where my german is from) mentioned that she builds muscle easily, well I do too. So I started googling it, and I figure it has to do with the German in my blood. Great post by the way!
I came out as 75% Gynaeoid and 25% Android but I am half Norwegian and the rest is a mix of Dutch, French, English and German. So who knows. I have more of the pear shape but I have a muscular physique. It is very easy for me to get in shape after a gym hiatus but sometimes it is hard to lose weight no matter how much I exercise…especially now since I just had a baby 5 weeks ago.
Hi Melissa, be patient, as you said you just had a baby 5 weeks ago! Be patient with yourself!
I got gynaeoid as my result- but I didn’t get any variations or percentages of other types like most people seem to have. Does anyone know if they have changed the quiz since then? I was thinking I have quite a bit of Android as well.
Hi Stephanie, yes it’s a pity, it seems that they changed the way they show the quiz’s result: the percentages are not longer displayed. Maybe you can read the descriptions of the 4 types http://www.liverdoctor.com/body-types and judge for yourself or ask a friend to see if you also recognize other body type tendencies?
My advise for anyone wanting to lose weight is to vist a personal trainer and dietitian.
It is not about the actual physical amount of weight that you weigh. I am 64kgs and am a size 8NZ (Size 2-4 US) and look as though I weigh 53kgs.
This is because ‘muscle weighs more than fat’ – Which really actually means that 1kg of fat takes up more room in the body than 1kg of muscle does. Hence a person who weighs 64kgs but has a lot of toned muscle mass appears to look thinner and lighter than someone who weighs 64kgs that carries a lot more fat than muscle. But both are the same ‘physical weight’.
So worry less about the number that appears on the scale and more about weight training and gaining muscle to brun and replace excess fat.
The more muscle you carry the more calories and fat you burn throughout the day at resting rate.
So eat 6 small portioned meals a day.
4 meals with lean protein such as fish, eggs, chicken and beans,.
Stick to healthy carbs such as sweet potato, pumpkin and whole wheat foods. And of course include your greens which are jam packed with vitamins, fibre and proteins such as spinach, silverbeet, brocoli, green beans and kale.