Healthy Life

To keep a healthy weight is crucial for staying healthy. Overweight can lead to many health problems. The US National Heart Lung and Blood Institute(NHLBI) use three criteria for assessing the health risks associated with overweight and obesity.

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Waist Circumference
Other Risk factors for Diseases Associated with Weight

Weight-Related Health Risks

Excess body fat can cause a variety of health problems, including:
- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Sleep Apnea
- degenerative joint disease (DJD)

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Determining how much a person should weigh is not simple, because it needs to consider the amount of bone, muscle, water and fat in one’s body’s composition and other factors. In addition, to measure one’s body fat is still a difficult problem waiting to be solved.

What is body mass index?
The Body Mass Index(BMI) is a widely used weight-assessment score computed according to a person’s height and weight. Usually, the higher the BMI score, the greater the risk of developing weight-related health problems may have. The Body Mass Index is used as a indicator of how much fat the person carries, however it only gives a fairly accurate assessment of how much of the person’s body is composed of fat.

How to compute body mass index?
You can use the following formula, which is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

English BMI Formula BMI = ( Weight in Pounds / ( Height in inches x Height in inches ) ) x 703

Metric BMI Formula BMI = ( Weight in Kilograms / ( Height in Meters x Height in Meters ) )

Use a BMI Scale to monitor your weight!
Get your BMI here.

How Body Mass Index Classifies Weight

Under 18.50 = Underweight
18.50 to 24.99 = Normal Weight
25 to 29.99 = Overweight
30 to 34.99 = Obese Class 1
35 to 39.99 = Obese Class 2
40 and above = Morbid Obesity

How Body Mass Index Classifies Weight-Related Health Risk

Under 18.50 – Risk = Moderate to Very High
20.00 to 21.99 – Risk = Low
22.00 to 24.99 – Risk = Very Low
25.00 to 29.99 – Risk = Low
30.00 to 34.99 – Risk = Moderate
35.00 to 39.99 – Risk = High
40.00 and above – Risk = Very High

Drawbacks of Body Mass Index
Because the body mass index system only considers a person’s height and weight, it has limitation. It takes no account of muscle-fat ratio, therefore, it tends to overestimate health risks for muscular athletes while underestimating the risks for older people and those who have lost muscle mass. BMF index does not take account of one’s age or sex either. It is certainly not appropriate for pregnant or breastfeeding women.

The interpretation of results and the weight classifications listed above is just for your reference. Always consult your physician for additional information regarding your individual health risks and medical history.

Waist Circumference

Abdominal fat is another predictor of your risk for heart and other diseases. This because body fat tissue which is stored around the stomach and abdomen poses a greater health risk than body fat located in the lower half of the body. For example, some studies indicate that abdominal fat plays a role in the development of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and heart disease. A waist circumference measurement of over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women increases your risk. For people with a BMI of 34 or less, waist circumference provides an independent prediction of risk. Always consult your physician for more information regarding reducing your risk for disease.

What is a Healthy Waist Circumference?

For Women
Usually waist of over 31 inches or about 80cm indicates slight health risk, and waist of over 35 inches or about 90cm indicates substantially increased risk. However, you should consider your height as well.

For Men
Usually waist of over 37 inches or about 94cm indicates slight health risk, and
waist of over 40 inches or about 102cm indicates substantially increased risk. Again you should consider your height.

Other Health Risk Factors

In addition to body mass index and waist measurement, there are additional risk factors to consider when assessing your weight-related health. These other risk factors for weight-related diseases and conditions include:

high blood pressure
high blood sugar
high cholesterol
high fat
family history of any disease
physical inactivity
smoking
drinking alcohol

In order to stay healthy, we need to maintain a healthy weight. To use Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference and consider Other Risk factors for Diseases Associated with weight is a great way to monitor our weight.

Blood cholesterol level is a major factor in determining one’s risk of developing heart disease. Usually, the higher level of one’s total blood cholesterol is, the higher his or her risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack would be. In many countries including the United States, nowadays, heart disease is the number one cause of death among both women and men.

High blood cholesterol

Cholesterol is used to build healthy cells, as well as some vital hormones. When we have high cholesterol level, we may develop fatty deposits in our blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits cause a narrowing of the arteries and make it difficult for enough blood to flow through our arteries. Our heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. If blood flow to part of our heart stops, we’ll have a heart attack. If blood flow to part of our brain stops, a stroke occurs.

Symptoms

High cholesterol has no symptoms. This lack of symptoms makes it imperative that everyone, 20 and over is tested and knows his or her blood cholesterol numbers.

Know your cholesterol levels

It is recommended anyone (20 year-old over) should take cholesterol test, and at least every five years, have your cholesterol retested. To check your cholesterol levels, usually, you’ll need to go without eating or drinking anything but water for nine to 12 hours before your blood draw. It is likely your doctor will recommend you have your blood drawn early in the morning.

Tests and diagnosis

A blood test to check cholesterol levels called a lipid panel or lipid profile, typically reports:
• Total cholesterol
• LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol — the primary source of cholesterol build up and blockage in our arteries
• HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol — helps to keep LDL cholesterol from building up in our arteries
• Triglycerides — a type of fat in the blood may develop fatty deposits

Understanding the numbers

Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood in the United States and some other countries. Canada and most European countries measure cholesterol in millimoles (mmol) per liter (L) of blood.

Are your cholesterol level is in the optimal category?

Total cholesterol level:
Below 200 mg/dL: desirable
200 – 239 mg/dL: borderline high
240 mg/dL and above : high

LDL cholesterol(bad) level:
Less than 100 mg/dL : Optimal
100 – 129mg/dL : Near optimal/above optimal
130 – 159mg/dL : Borderline high
160 – 189 mg/dL : High
190 mg/dL and above : Very high

HDL cholesterol(good) level:
Below 40 mg/dL (men) : poor
Below 50 mg/dL (women) : poor
50-59 mg/dL : better
60 mg/dL and above : best

Triglyceride level:
Below 150 mg/dL : desirable
150-199 mg/dL: borderline high
200-499 mg/dL : high
500 mg/dL and above : very high

Heart disease risk increases in people who have high LDL cholesterol levels and or triglyceride levels. If you have high blood cholesterol, lowering your numbers will significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attack.

The high cholesterol level means too much cholesterol in the blood and the unused cholesterol can builds up in the artery walls, leading to the hardening and narrowing of the arteries, which cause cardiovascular diseases even leads to heart stokes or hear attacks. Therefore we should realize that cutting down on cholesterol level is extremely important for our health. Luckily, by the current medical research and techniques, high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) is largely preventable and treatable. Good cholesterol management can lead to a healthier and longer life.

What causes high cholesterol level?

Various factors cause high cholesterol levels. Some of them are within our control, such as inactivity, obesity and an unhealthy diet. These factors contribute to high LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and low HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). In addition, there are some factors beyond our control such as age, gender and genetic factors, which may keep our body cells from removing LDL cholesterol from our blood efficiently or cause our liver to produce too much cholesterol, and in this situation it is usually because the body does not cope well with normal amounts of cholesterol being eaten, and causes high cholesterol levels.

Best ways to prevent high cholesterol levels

A healthy diet and regular exercise can help us toward reducing high cholesterol levels. There are many natural and herbal medications available in the market which has proved very effective in reducing the cholesterol levels as well.

Get your blood tested and know your numbers
Get your cholesterol levels checked by a simple blood test, and results are generally available within a week. Understand the numbers and confirm yours are in the normal zone.

Watch your diet
Usually too much saturated fat in the diet is the most common cause of high cholesterol. Saturated fat encourages the body to make more cholesterol than it needs or can get rid of. Therefore, to limit saturated fat in your diet is a way to prevent high blood cholesterol levels. In addition, because cholesterol in food sources is important, reducing theses dietary sources of cholesterol can help to lower your blood cholesterol levels.

Certain healthy foods can help with cholesterol management. It is recommended to increase your intake of soy products such as tofu, soy milk, fish, vegetables and fruits etc.

Keep a healthy weight
Another risk factor for heart disease, as well as a contributing factor on high cholesterol levels is being overweight. If you are overweight, your risk for heart disease and high blood cholesterol is greatly increased. By losing weight and keeping a healthy weight, you can lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels and help to increase your HDL cholesterol levels and reduce your triglyceride levels as well. Therefore, it helps your cholesterol levels fall into healthy zone.

Exercise regularly
Physical activity can greatly affect your cholesterol levels as well. By exercising, you can raise your metabolism and burn calories, and then lose fat weight. In addition, it helps you to lower total cholesterol, increases the good HDL cholesterol. In fact, regular exercise can benefit us mentally and physically.

Manage stress
By research, fatigue, anger and distress can raise our body’s adrenaline levels, and cause cholesterol to rise. Take healthy foods and sufficient sleep, and then practice relaxation and stress-reduction techniques such as breathing exercises, Yoga and meditation help us control stress.

Consider Medication
Sometimes diet, exercise and stress reduction just are not enough to get cholesterol into the safe zone. Consult your physician to see if medication is right for you.

Controlling our diet, weight, and amount of physical activity are even more important because other factors such as age, gender, and heredity are things we cannot control. We also have to face the fact that the older we get the higher blood cholesterol levels will be. Women are particularly sensitive to the age factor since before menopause total cholesterol levels are lower than men of the same age; however, post menopausal women often see an increase in LDL levels. For those who have high blood cholesterol levels caused genetically, learn how to manage your cholesterol levels and prevent high cholesterol levels even more crucial.