Are you curious if you are on your way to living a long and healthy life in your golden years? Most health professionals would tell you to get on a scale, as numbers like weight and BMI (body mass index) are often used to predict your chances of developing certain diseases and your life expectancy in general. The problem is that neither weight nor BMI is an accurate measure of your health.
This is because weight and BMI are not customized for gender or body type, nor do they take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and ethnic differences.
Take for example a bodybuilder with a dense muscle mass. That person may mistakenly fall into a classification of overweight or obesity by weight or BMI. To the contrary, these metrics do not address the problem of obese people of normal weight, also known as "skinny fatty“, who appear thin by BMI but have a high percentage of body fat and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Instead of worrying too much about weight, a group of experts have found other metrics that can be useful tools in assessing your health and disease risk. In fact, these four measures (walking speed, flexion capacity, grip strength, and waist circumference) they can reveal more about your state of health than any weight.
your walking speed
According to a study published in June of this year, how fast you walk is related to how long you live. The researchers found that people who walk faster enjoy a longer life expectancy than those who walk slower, regardless of their BMI. Perhaps this is because walking, unlike weight, is a functional measure of several important things. Walking assesses balance, coordination, lower extremity and core strength, as well as cardiovascular health. You need to be in good physical shape to maintain a fast pace.
To measure your walking speed:
Walk 1 kilometer. Then divide 60 by the number of minutes it took you to walk that distance. Alternatively, time yourself as you walk 6 meters. Divide by six by the number of seconds it took you to complete this walk. So if you walk six meters in three seconds, your pace is 2 meters per second.
Your skill doing push-ups
Since pushups work the entire body, and require strength and stamina, the number you can complete is another indicator of your overall health. Push ups are a good measure of upper body and core strength, as well as cardiovascular health. In short, the more pushups you can do, the stronger and better your cardiovascular system will be.
How to measure your push-ups:
First, work to master the correct technique.
- Start in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to toe.
- Contract your abdominal muscles so your hips don't sag and your back doesn't arch.
- Bend your elbows as you lower your chest to the floor, keeping your hips level.
- Your elbows should be at a 45 degree angle to the body.
- Once you get as far down as you can, push yourself back onto a board.
- Try to perform as many push-ups as possible with perfect technique before you get tired.
your grip strength
Oddly enough, the ability to squeeze a grip meter can predict whether you'll live to a ripe old age. But why? Grip strength can help identify muscular and cardiovascular weaknesses. This is because how tight you can grip something relates to both your upper body strength and your heart's ability to handle pumping against higher pressure (because your blood pressure rises with the act of pulling). grip).
Haven't I convinced you? According to one study, weaker grip strength was found to be strongly linked to the occurrence of poor health outcomes such as lung cancer and heart disease. Furthermore, grip strength was an even better predictor of death than blood pressure or general physical activity.
How to measure grip strength:
To calculate grip strength, all you have to do is squeeze a handgrip dynamometer at a gym or your doctor's office. To improve this type of strength, you need to build muscle. Commit to resistance training two to three times a week.
the circumference of your waist
A large waist circumference can be a warning sign for future health problems. That's because circumference is an indicator of abdominal fat. In other words, waist size increases as internal fat stores increase. And excessive abdominal fat is associated with health conditions such as type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease.
How to measure waist circumference:
With your tummy exposed, place a tape measure around your waist, just above your upper hipbone. Take the measurement as you exhale (but don't crunch your belly!). An ideal waist circumference is less than 89 inches for women and less than 101 inches for men.
Pay attention to the perimeter of your belly. Are you abdominal obese?
Other alarms of poor health
When it comes to assessing the health of your heart, you may also want to monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
La blood pressure it's a great barometer of cardiovascular health. When your blood pressure is chronically high, the cardiovascular system and/or sympathetic nervous system are stressed.
If the root cause of your increased blood pressure is related to something physical, mental, or even lack of sleep, the stress on the body is unhealthy. If your blood pressure is higher than 130/80 on a regular basis, you should see a medical professional to help you assess the situation and help you make healthy lifestyle changes.
El cholesterol it is also a good measure of cardiovascular risk. The higher the bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), the greater the chances of heart attack and stroke. Although cholesterol is often strongly linked to genetics, there are still steps you can take to lower your levels; such as limiting saturated fat intake, following a Mediterranean diet with more plant-based foods, and exercising regularly. to increase good HDL cholesterol.