Assessing Your Health

Assessing your health is important.  Knowing your risk factors and current health status will help you know what areas need some work and how you can improve.  There are several different ways to screen clients for health, all with varying degrees of accuracy and convenience.  In this blog, I will cover the three most common ones that every trainer should use prior to beginning workouts with you.

• The first is BMI. This stands for Body Mass Index and assesses your weight relative to your height. The calculation is reached by dividing your body weight in kilograms (weight in pounds divided by 2.2), by your height in meters squared (height in inches multiplied by 0.0254 squared).  The BMI is used as a way to assess obesity and associated health risks. A BMI of 25 or higher is usually accompanied by increased obesity-related health risks.

Here is a BMI classification chart:

o   Underweight:          BMI below 18.5

o   Normal:                      BMI between 18.5 and 24.9

o   Overweight:             BMI between 25 and 29.9

o   Obesity Class 1:       BMI between 30 and 34.9

o   Obesity Class 2:       BMI between 35 and 39.9

o   Obesity Class 3:       BMI 40 and over

The BMI is used to screen general populations for health risk. It’s a relatively easy and time efficient way to do so.  Although it is an indirect measurement, it seems to be fairly reliable for most people.  It does, however, have limitations.  Because it doesn’t take into account muscle mass, it is not accurate for athletes or those with more muscle mass.  Muscle weighs more than fat, so although an athlete’s weight on the scale might be higher than their sedentary counterpart, they are not necessarily at a higher risk for obesity-related health risks.  Athletes with large muscle mass will get an inaccurately high number for their BMI. It is for this reason that BMI can only go so far to assess health risk. As a tool for the general population, it is great, but it is not accurate or appropriate for everyone.

• The second form of assessment is waist to hip ratio.  The pattern of body fat distribution is a key predictor of health risks related to obesity.  Two circumference measurements are taken for this assessment; one at the waist and one at the hips.  The waist measurement is attained at the narrowest part of the torso, usually a little above the bellybutton.  The hip measurement is taken at the widest part of the hips. The waist to hip ratio is the circumference of the waist divided by that of the hips. For example if your waist is 26 inches and your hips are 36 inches, your waist to hip ratio would be .72. Health risks increase as your waist to hip ratio does.  Those who store most of their fat in the abdomen area around their internal organs (android), have higher risk for obesity-related issues when compared to those who store their fat in the hips and thighs (gynoid).

The classification chart for waist to hip ratio is below:

Male                                                     Female                                                 Classification

.95 and below                                    .8 and below                                      Low Risk

.96-1.0                                                  .81-.85                                                  Moderate Risk

1.0 +                                                      .85 +                                                      High Risk

• The final aspect of health assessment I will discuss here is defining your positive risk factors.  This will usually come in the form of a health history questionnaire; basic information about you that we need to know in order to accurately assess the status of your health. If you currently smoke or have quit within the last 6 months for example, that is a positive risk factor which increases your risk of coronary artery disease.  Other positive risk factors that you can control are: sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, and obesity.  All these factors can be eliminated with proper diet and exercise.  Family history, obviously, you can’t change. You have a risk factor if your father or male first degree relative has a heart attack or sudden death before the age of 55.  The age for your mother or female first degree relative is 65.  There are other controllable positive risk factors as well like your fasting glucose score and LHL(bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol score.  If your HDL (good) cholesterol score is over 60, it eliminates one risk factor.  Often you don’t know this information as blood tests need to be done in order to acquire it.

Whether or not you plan to work with a trainer, this information is helpful to know.  BMI calculations are simple and can even be done online.  If you have a tape measure, you can also enter in your waist and hip measurements online for your waist to hip ratio.