Why do women end up with the pear and men with the apple (body shape)? It comes down to the body's preference for storing energy (fat). For a variety of reasons the body will store energy in the form of adipose tissue, we call this fat and it seems to be a growing issue in Australia if you will excuse the pun. By far and away the most common reason for storing fat is a positive energy balance in the form of dietary food and drink combined with a lack of physical activity.

Now the body may well be pre-programmed to decide where it feels it is best to store fat. For men and post menopausal women, the most common place is the stomach which seems to be a marker for the vicious and deadly lifestyle related diseases

For pre-menopausal females the most common area for fat storage is the buttocks and thighs, which from a health perspective is probably a more desired place as it is considered less volatile to the body and therefore less likely to cause disease. The flip side is that because the women's thighs and buttocks are the preferred storage site for body fat it just makes trying to get rid of the flabby thighs a little harder. This is why men tend to lose greater amounts of weight initially compared to females.

So, what is the best way to get rid of the flabby thighs and tone your legs? The best results will come from a combination of reducing the caloric intake (diet modification) to a more desired level and increasing the energy expenditure (exercise) to create a negative energy balance. In this case your body will have to find internal energy and will inevitably start to burn stored fat as fuel. With persistence over time you will start to lose that unwanted flab from around your bum and thighs.

The type of exercise is important. For best results, a combination of cardiovascular and resistance workouts will both burn fuel and increase your basal metabolic rate at the same time. Cardio workouts include those where you repeatedly and rhythmically use the large muscle groups such as aerobics, walking, jogging, cycling, and high intensity circuit training.

These are your greatest ally and combined with regular resistance exercises will help on the output side of the equation. If you are fair dinkum about losing that flab, then you will need to set aside 60 minutes most days for some energy burning exercise.

For more information on healthy weight management and healthy eating go to <a href="http://au.rd.yahoo.com/health/lsmedicine/SIG=11fqu1soj/**http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifestylemedicine.net.au%2F" rel="nofollow">www.lifestylemedicine.net.au</a>.