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BY BEVERLY BURMEIER
THE PATH TO good health sometimes
seems like an obstacle course of numbers.
Do you know your body mass index (BMI),
waist-to-hip ratio, blood sugar, low-den-sity lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density
lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and bone
mass? Knowing your numbers lets you
take preventive steps if anything is out of
the normal range.
Use the following guide to ;nd your
starting point to good health.
Body mass index
• What it indicates: Your body weight
relative to your height. High numbers
have been associated with increased risk
for certain breast and blood cancers as
well as other health problems.
• How to ;nd your number: For adults,
multiply your weight in pounds by ;;;.;
and divide that by your height in inches.
Divide again by your height.
• Target number: A BMI between ;;.;
and ;; is considered normal. Higher than
;; indicates obesity. Keep in mind that, at
the same BMI, women tend to have more
body fat and men typically have greater
muscle mass.
Waist-to-hip ratio
• What it indicates: Signi;cant risk of
possible cardiovascular disease or gallstones, because the type of fat around the
waist is more metabolically active than fat
elsewhere on the body.
• How to ;nd your number: Measure
your waist in inches (just under the rib-cage) and divide that number by hip measurement (at the widest point). Another
number to consider is waist circumference. For women the measurement at the
belly button—not where a clothing waistband sits—should be less than ;; inches,
and for men it should be less than ;;
inches. (For people of Asian ethnicity
those figures should be ;;.; inches for
women and ;; inches for men.)
• Target number: The risk for heart
disease and diabetes is greatest if the
waist-hip ratio is more than ;.; for women
or ;.; for men.
Blood sugar
• What it indicates: How
much glucose is in the blood.
High levels of blood sugar indicate the
presence of diabetes, which increases the
risk for cardiovascular disease.
• How to find your number: Have a
fasting blood test.
• Target number: A healthy number is
under ; mmol/L after not eating for eight
hours. If your fasting number is over ;
mmol/L, you may be at risk for diabetes.
LDL (bad) cholesterol
• What it indicates: More cholesterol
particles in your arteries, increasing the
threat of heart attack.
• How to ;nd your number: Your doctor orders a cholesterol blood test.
• Target number: While total cholesterol should be under ;.; mmol/L,
;.; mmol/L.
HDL (good) cholesterol
• What it indicates: How well excess
blood cholesterol is moved to the liver,
where it’s processed out of the body.
• How to find your number: Take a
cholesterol blood test.
• Target number: ;.; mmol/L or greater
for women; above ;.; mmol/L for men.
T-score
• What it indicates: Bone mass (
density) in your hip or spine. Low bone mass
increases your chance of breaking a bone
and other complications.
• How to find your number: Have a
non-invasive, painless scan of your hip or
spine with a special X-ray machine.
• Target number: A T-score of minus
;.; or above is normal. A T-score between
minus ;.; and minus ;.; indicates low
bone density (osteopenia). If your
T-score is below minus ;.;, the diagnosis
is osteoporosis.
Yes, good health can be a numbers
game. Make sure yours add up. C
Beverly Burmeier is a freelance health writer.
Good numbers add up to good health
Know your numbers
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FOR YOUR HEALTH
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