Physicians and health columnists have been exhorting the public for years to pare saturated fats from the diet. Johns Hopkins University researchers tie high-saturated-fat diets to a second risk factor for cardiovascular disease: abdominal fat.

People's bodies tend to layer most of their extra fat onto their hips, giving them a pear-shape physique. The rest store much of their excess poundage around the middle, giving them an apple shape. Nutritionists actually call these two groups "pears" and "apples."

The saturated fat in burgers and in potatoes fried in beef tallow or lard encourages the body to put on pounds around the waist. However, many restaurants now fry potatoes in vegetable oils.

These oils, rich in polyunsatured fats, foster excess body fat to deposit lower, around the hips. While excess fat anywhere is not good, studies have linked special health risks to fat around our middles.