So the conventional wisdom goes that women, unlike men, tend to store their fat in their butt, hips and thighs, rather than the abdomen. Which seems to ignore body types such as apple, but then the conventional wisdom is also that the most common body type for women is pear.

But lately it seems like I see a lot more central obesity on women on the street than anything else, even on women who are overweight rather than obese, and women who are young.

Am I just imagining that this has changed? In other words, not being an apple myself, maybe I never particularly noticed that shape; or maybe I didn't particularly notice shapes in general before I had a weight problem.

Or is America not just getting fatter, but getting fatter in different ways (more central)? And why?

I guess, from my perspective, I think our most common weight distribution has changed due processed foods and stress. But lately I just really, really noticed all the central obesity I see on the street. It seems to be the rule, not the exception.

Then again, maybe it's just all the low-rise pants making it look this way

I do know processed, white, junky carbs greatly contribute to the belly region. Since this is what dominates the shelves at the market and what seems to be the going thing at cheapy restaurants maybe this is what is happening.

I will observe around me. I don't know if it's shifting or not--perhaps.

Coming from a long line of apple shaped women, I don't know if there are more apple shaped women these days or not - the women in my family have never been prone to hip and thigh weight gain.

I got fat on junky white carb foods - went to my hips/thighs. I was a heavy pear shape, now I'm a thin pear shape.

I think I just notice apple vs. pear more lately because I've read so much about apple vs. pear shapes! 10 years ago, my brain might have simply thought "overweight" now I notice body shape.

Maybe it's easier to notice pears because apples seem to look slimmer at low weights? Small tushies, slender legs, from the back a lot of apples look slender even with a little belly. From the back, well...pears have junk in the trunk.

hmm. this hadn't occured to me, but it certainly seems more than plausible for the factors you mentioned. i'm an apple thanks to my pcos and insulin resistance. central obesity is associated with insulin resistance and type II diabetes, which i know is definitely on the rise. so that would support your theory, except i'm not sure about the directionality of causality (ie. which caused which) or if there even is evidence of causality or simply an association.
if i have some time this afternoon, maybe i'll run a quick search in medline to see if i can find any studies on incidence and prevalence of central obesity in women.