Women's "Health" reinforcing Body Issues?

http://women.webmd.com/news/20100225/belly-fat-culprit-stroke-gender-gap

According to this WebMD article, middle-aged women are more likely than middle-aged men to have a stroke. Apparently this is caused by belly fat. This article implies that belly fat on women is more detrimental than belly fat on men.

I wonder if this is a way to reinforce the stereotype that all women must be thin, reinforcing teenage obsessions with diet and body image. It's true that excessive fat, especially around the middle, is harmful. But why do people think that it's more harmful in women?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060403132624.htm

According to ScienceDaily, belly fat is more detrimental in men. This makes more sense to me. Women need a little more fat around the middle for pregnancy, whereas men have no such excuse. But most women don't seem to get that message. All we seem to get is, "All fat is bad."

It's interesting that the article about fat on women is more accessible, being as how WebMD is a medical news site for the common person. A quick search of WebMD for abdominal fat in men doesn't show anything like the ScienceDaily article. Instead of blaming fashion media for women's body issues, why don't we blame health media?